Aleksandar Rakic returned for the first time in just under two years, as he took on Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300 this past Saturday.
After having not fought since May 2022 – after tearing his ACL in the main event against Jan Blachowicz – the Serbian was hoping to bounce back with a win, where he would find himself near a title shot.
Unfortunately for the 32-year-old, former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka, handed him his second loss in a row after scoring a second-round knockout.
Aleksandar Rakic reveals he had staph infection heading into UFC 300
Speaking publically for the first time since his loss on Saturday, Aleksandar Rakic has revealed that he had staph infection on his elbow, during fight week, and was worried the UFC was going to pull him from the fight.
“(It was) Wednesday/Thursday when the elbow got infected, I was really in pain on Wednesday. I was afraid the doctor from the UFC would cancel my fight, but that was really a no-go, I’d have fought with one hand. I was given strong antibiotics.” Rakic said on his YouTube channel.
Rakic went on to say that when he did his training session on Friday, he felt ‘different’, but just put it down to the weight cut, and not the staph infection.
“On the Friday evening when we trained I felt a little different than the last time (we trained). A few times I got tired quickly due to my strength and condition but I didn’t think anything of it, I thought it was from the weight cut and that it’d be much better on Saturday.”
Despite that, he admitted that when he was warming up on Saturday before his fight, he felt his legs were getting tired quicker than normal.
“On Saturday, I started to feel that my legs were getting tired a little quicker than normal.” Rakic added.
Although Rakic is making this revelation after the matter, he stated that he’s not using it as an excuse, despite admitting he wasn’t ‘100%’.
“Congratulations to Jiri and I really don’t want to say that the infection was an excuse or is an excuse that I have now lost because it’s not. What I can say from my side is that it obviously affected me a bit and in my opinion, I couldn’t 100% exploit my full potential.”
Rakic’s options for his next fight at light heavyweight
Going forward, the 32-year-old will have to string together several wins before he is back near a title shot.
Nikita Krylov is on a three-fight win streak and will be looking for a step up in the rankings for his next fight. This is a fight that could make sense from a rankings perspective, with Rakic likely having to defend his ranking in his next outing.
Khalil Rountree Jr will likely be another option that is considered, with the ferocious striker riding a five-fight win streak and currently occupying rank eight in the division.
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