After his stunning win at UFC Fight Night Stockholm, Aleksandar Rakic's target remains simple: the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.
Taking on Jimi Manuwa in the event's co main event, Rakic extended his winning streak, violently knocking his foe out in just 47 seconds. With that victory, Rakic is almost certainly headed into the UFC's Light Heavyweight top 10, now an impressive 4-0 inside the octagon. Still a young man, Rakic isn't rushing his progression but even still, is happy to consider how a potential fight with Jon Jones would play out.
“I’m an all-around fighter like him, so it would be a great fight to fight him,” Rakic explained at the UFC Stockholm post-fight press conference. “I watched Jon Jones for a long time and I think what I can say now, the advantage I have over him is my footwork and my speed in the punches. I think I’m much faster than him and I have more power to finish a fight with one punch, and the footwork.”
With nine successful title defenses under his belt, Jones is an unparalleled champion in the sport, dominating the Light Heavyweight division for much of the last decade. Considering that, the still relatively inexperienced Rakic is hoping to continue his steady progression before meeting 'Bones' under the bright lights. “I think to fight for the title, I need a couple more fights,” Rakic said.
“I need to improve all my skills because to take a title fight against Jon Jones or someone else, it’s hard, you have to be prepared not 100 percent, you to be prepared 200 percent. I’m 27 years old, I don’t want to rush, I have plenty of time and you see after every fight in the UFC I’m getting better and better.”
Regardless of when Rakic makes it to true title contention, his goal is unwavering: to become UFC Champion. “I’ve been working so hard, not just for this fight, but every fight for my whole career, I’ve been working for this. This is my place and I’m born for it, to be a champion one day.”
Credit to MMA Fighting for their transcript of Rakic's comments.
For our post-show review of UFC Stockholm, click here.
