Aleksandar Rakic on Narrow UFC Busan Defeat: ‘We All Know Who the Real Winner Is’

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That is the feeling what i have right NOW!! He won on the papers but we all know who the REAL winner is. No Excuses i will work my ass off to show my fans what I am capable of. . . #ufc #ufcbusan #winner #gettysport #teamrakic #rocket

A post shared by Aleksandar Rakic (@rakic_ufc) on Dec 21, 2019 at 10:29pm PST

Aleksandar Rakic was on the wrong side of a split decision at UFC Fight Night 165, as he dropped two of the three judges scorecards against Volkan Oezdemir this past Saturday.

The statistics reflected the close nature of the bout. Rakic outlanded his opponent 75 to 63 in significant strikes, while Oezdemir held a 118-to-87 edge in total strikes landed. Rakic landed the only takedown of the fight but was denied on eight other attempts.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the contest, however, was the grotesque swelling on Rakic’s leg as Oezdemir repeatedly battered it with low kicks. Whether that was the deciding factor is unknown, but Oezdemir’s work ultimately earned the nod from judges Mark Collett and Anthony Dimitriou.

The majority of media scoring the fight thought Rakic deserved the victory, as seven of the eight scorecards tracked by MMADecisions.com awarded the bout to the Austrian light heavyweight.

Given a little time to reflect, Rakic doesn’t agree with the result, but he also seems relatively unfazed by his first defeat since 2011.

“He [Oezdemir] won on the papers but we all know who the REAL winner is,” Rakic wrote on Instagram. No excuses I will work my ass off to show my fans what I am capable of.”

Rakic began his promotional tenure with triumphs over Francimar Barroso, Justin Ledet, Devin Clark and Jimi Manuwa, with the most recent two coming via first-round KO or TKO. The 27-year-old owns a 12-2 career mark.