Aleksander Rakic earned a unanimous decision win over Thiago Santos tonight at UFC 259, but unfortunately it was a largely uneventful fight between the two knockout artists.
Round One:
Inside leg kick for Santos. Body punch for him and Santos tries to create space with a front kick to the midsection that misses.
Calf kick for Rakic. Santos just misses with a lunging punch and Rakic responds with a kick. Body kick for Santos and then checks a counter leg kick.
Leg kick for Rakic. Kick to the body from Santos. Body kick for Santos, leg kick from Rakic and Santos fires back again.
Inside leg kick for Rakic. They exchange leg kicks. Again Santos goes to the leg. Outside leg kick for Rakic. Inside one from Santos. Dangerous exchange from both men there where they just avoided each others big strikes, including a Rakic head kick attempt.
Heavy leg kick for Santos. Rakic attempts a head kick that’s blocked. Kick for him. Santos lunges in the final seconds of the round and Rakic just misses on a counter hook attempt.
Round Two:
Rakic presses forward and throws a kick to the upper leg. Santos with a kick of his own. Calf kick for Rakic. Missed superman punch from Santos.
Body kick for Santos. Uppercut from Rakic just misses, but follows up with a leg kick that lands. Body kick for Rakic.
Body punch from Santos. Santos bursts forward with a punch, but misses. Low leg kick for Rakic and just avoids a counter.
Santos looking to clinch, but it’s Rakic who reverses and presses him into the cage. Foot stomps from Rakic and the occasional knee. Santos throwing knees to the leg too. Knee upstairs from Santos. Body punches from Rakic. Santos escapes the clinch while landing a hook.
Front kick to the body from Rakic and a leg kick in response from Santos. Body kick from Santos. Clubbing counter left from Rakic as Santos presses into range again.
Flying knee to the body from Rakic to end what was for the most part a fairly cagey round from both fighters.
Round Three:
Body kick from Rakic is partially blocked. Inside leg kick from Santos and an outside leg kick in response from Rakic.
Santos attempts a takedown, but Rakic just stuffs that easily and shoves Santos into the cage. He’s unable to keep him there for long though.
leg kick for Santos. Hard body kick from Santos and Rakic tried but failed to catch it. Calf kick for Rakic, but it’s checked.
Straight right for Rakic. Santos just misses with a body punch. He lands a body kick though and then one to the inside leg.
Jab lands for Rakic. Body kick for Santos. Head kick attempt from Santos is blocked. Front kick to the body for Rakic.
Rakic goes in on a takedown attempt. Up against the cage he’s working for a single leg and Santos is dropping down elbow strikes that detters him.
Rakic settling for the clinch against the cage now. Santos looking to work a knee or two. Final minute of the fight now and still the fight hasn’t really come to life.
They break apart. Santos with a leg kick. Now one from Rakic. Inside leg kick for Santos. Spinning kick from Rakic misses and that’s the final action of the fight.
Decision:
Despite the firepower both men possess, there wasn’t a whole lot of action here unfortunately. Nonetheless, Rakic was a little more active and so the judges declare him the winner by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27).
