Aleksandar Rakić Ethnicity and Nationality: Is the UFC Light Heavyweight Star Serbian?

Aleksandar Rakić has been holding the #5 spot of the UFC light heavyweight rankings for quite some time now. He has amassed 14 wins but faced defeat in 4 of his professional MMA bouts. ‘Rocket’ has fought some of the strongest fighters in the division and even defeated Anthony Smith via a unanimous decision. Needless to say, he made sure that his country was highlighted in his matches.

But where do Rakić’s roots lie? Today, let’s take a deep dive and look at the light heavyweight #5’s ethnic and national background.

What is Aleksander Rakic’s ethnicity and nationality?

Aleksandar Rakić was born in Vienna, Austria, but he is of Serbian descent. In the UFC, however, he represents Austria. This makes sense considering he has spent most of his life in the country.

Rakic finished his schooling in Austria and was also a state champion in Kickboxing there. As a child, he was really into playing football. However, he was shown the door by the team because he was just too aggressive for it all. The next sports he found himself feeling inclined towards were ones where he could show aggression all he wanted.

At about the age of 12, Rakić started training in boxing and kickboxing. By the time he was 20 years old, he had already fought 40 times, and not much later, he decided to transition to MMA. In fact, the Austrian even worked at a hotel just to support himself through all the training.

So, how exactly did he start getting into MMA? Here’s his journey after his initial interest in fighting just simply branched out into what we see today.

How did ‘Rocket’ start MMA?

Aleksandar Rakić was already interested in boxing and kickboxing early on and at the age of 16, when he met Muay Thai specialist Günter Strasser, his journey in the sport started taking off. The gym he met him at was called Fight Club Vienna.

At the age of 20, he finally turned professional, giving all his training and amateur bouts the credit that they deserved. He joined the UFC with an 8-1 MMA record garnered over 6 years, in events held in Austria and Germany. If he earns a shot at the UFC 205 lbs title, fans can expect ‘Rocket’ to call for a PPV in his home country for the same.

Rakić is ready to take on one of the biggest fighters in the history of the light heavyweight division, as he gets ready to fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 308. With his crosshairs taking aim at the light heavyweight championship title, ‘The Rocket’ would indeed showcase an immersive display of strength against his Russian opponent.

Who do you think would win between Rakić and Ankalaev? Do you think the Austrian mixed martial artist would be able to break Ankalaev’s 10-fight winning streak? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.