Aleksandar Rakic Embraces Heavyweight Move

Aleksandar Rakic will enter a new division this weekend, moving from light heavyweight to heavyweight for his bout with Marcin Tybura on the UFC Fight Night main card at Belgrade Arena. For Rakic, the change is not presented as a sudden experiment. It is the result of years spent managing increasingly difficult weight cuts and a belief that competing closer to the weight at which he trains can allow him to arrive with more energy and less physical strain.

Rakic said he has been cutting weight for 20 years, dating back to his kickboxing start at age 14. What began as cuts of one or two kilos became far more demanding as he grew heavier, with his most recent cuts totaling 38 or 39 pounds. He said he can make the weight, but that the recovery is significant, explaining that he needs another two months after each cut to recover. After consulting doctors, Rakic said he was told that cutting weight was no longer the healthiest choice if he wanted a life after his career. At 34, he sees the heavyweight move as a way to preserve the attributes he values while removing the extended dieting and recovery that accompanied his light heavyweight campaigns.

Rakic sees energy as the key change

Aleksandar Rakic described the difference between his old process and this fight week in direct terms: he is enjoying it. Rather than draining himself in the final stages of camp, he said he can eat, drink and train with energy. He compared the traditional process to having a Ferrari with only a small amount of gasoline inside, a description that captures his view that a difficult cut gradually reduces what an athlete can bring into competition. The heavyweight move does not mean Rakic is unfamiliar with the size at which he will compete. He said he has always trained at this weight and understands when and how hard he can push. His case for the move rests on that familiarity, as well as his belief that he has the height, reach and strength for heavyweight while retaining the speed, explosiveness and agility he considers his advantages. The central change, in his account, is that he no longer has to put his body through lengthy dieting before performing.

That makes the move meaningful beyond the number on the scale. Rakic is trying to remove a part of preparation that he believes has required a long recovery after every bout. He is not claiming that the new division eliminates the work required against Tybura; instead, he said he will need to push in a matchup where both fighters have something to prove. Rakic enters on a four-fight losing streak, while Tybura has lost two straight. Rakic’s focus is on bringing a healthy version of himself into the Octagon and concentrating on the work that has gone into the past several months. The setting also adds a personal dimension, with Rakic competing in Serbia for the first time.

A long road leads Rakic to Belgrade

Aleksandar Rakic’s recent stretch has made this weekend especially important to him. Before joining the UFC, he built an eight-fight winning streak on the regional circuit. He then won his first four UFC bouts before a debated split decision loss to former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos followed, putting him back on track and leading to a fight with former champion Jan Blachowicz. The Blachowicz bout marked the beginning of a difficult period. Rakic suffered a knee injury early in the third round and was sidelined for well over a year. He returned at UFC 300 and was stopped by Jiri Prochazka. Six months later, he lost a decision to Magomed Ankalaev, then a year after that fell to then-unbeaten Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321. Rakic said his record stands at 14-6 heading into the Tybura fight and acknowledged the pressure that comes with four consecutive losses and five years without a victory. Belgrade gives Rakic a chance to address that stretch in a place that carries deep meaning for him. He was born and raised in Austria but said he has Serbian heritage, lived in a Serbian traditional way with his family and spent holidays traveling to Serbia. He has also shifted much of his preparation to the host nation in recent years. Rakic said the thought of fighting in front of his home crowd gives him goosebumps, while also recognizing that the occasion brings enough pressure without adding more himself.

• Rakic said his final light heavyweight cuts reached 38 or 39 pounds, and he needed roughly two months to recover after each one.
• Rakic said he has trained at his current heavyweight size for years, making the division change an extension of his regular training life rather than an unfamiliar physical adjustment.

Aleksandar Rakic’s heavyweight move is tied to a clear objective: compete without the prolonged strain he associated with making light heavyweight. The bout with Tybura gives him a demanding test, but also a chance to show how that revised preparation translates under UFC lights in Belgrade. Rakic said he is healthy, confident after a strong camp and determined to put on a good fight in front of the crowd he considers his own.

Sources: UFC.com