Aleksandar Rakic tore the ACL in his right knee in a UFC Fight Night main event loss to Jan Blachowicz last Saturday in Las Vegas, Rakic’s manager Marcelo Brigadeiro confirmed to ESPN on Monday evening.
Early in the third round, Rakic took a step back following a Blachowicz combination. When Rakic planted his right, rear leg, it gave out immediately, and he fell to the canvas clutching his knee.
Referee Mark Smith stepped in to stop the fight and award Blachowicz a TKO victory as a result of the injury.
Rakic had an MRI done Monday, and the results came back later that evening. Brigadeiro said Rakic will require surgery, which he expects to get done as soon as possible. Rakic was on his way back to his native Austria as of Monday evening.
Rakic (14-3) had a two-fight winning streak snapped by Blachowicz on Saturday. Coming into that fight, ESPN had him ranked No. 5 in the world at light heavyweight. Rakic, 30, has long been considered a top name coming out of Central Europe and someone expected to be near the top of the division.
He has won six of eight UFC fights.