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Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos has lambasted Aleksandar Rakic for the latter’s recent comments about their clash at UFC 259. Marreta was seemingly irked by Rakic suggesting that their UFC 259 matchup was an easy fight.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Thiago Santos suggested that he landed more strikes than Aleksandar Rakic in their fight. Santos also expressed his disagreement with what he feels is the disrespect that Rakic has displayed towards him.
The UFC 259 (March 6, 2021) light heavyweight bout between Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic witnessed the latter win via unanimous decision.
The fight was criticized by the vast majority of MMA fans and experts. They claimed that the inactivity on the part of both fighters ruined what was expected to be one of the most entertaining fights on the card.
Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic were respectful after the fight, with no signs of any rivalry evident. However, this appears to have changed after a few statements that Rakic has put forth as of late.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Aleksandar Rakic asserted that he’s more than deserving of a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title. Rakic also went on to refer to his UFC 259 showdown against Thiago Santos as an "easy victory."
“The focus was on an aggressive guy…I respect Thiago and I think you can respect your opponent before the fight and after the fight, but, in the cage or in the Octagon, I’m not gonna respect you. And I think his problem was that maybe he was respecting me in the cage. That’s the reason he let me do my thing. It was for me, like, easy victory, because I showed maybe 60 percent of my skills.”
Furthermore, Aleksandar Rakic insinuated that a victory is a victory regardless of how one achieves it, reiterating his claim to the next shot at the UFC light heavyweight title.
Aleksandar Rakic has fired back at Thiago Santos
Aleksandar Rakic controlled the striking distance and grappling in the fight, and he was indeed able to successfully neutralize Thiago Santos’ vaunted KO power.
Nevertheless, the consensus in the MMA community is that Rakic is unlikely to receive the next title shot, as his win over Santos was marred by inactivity.
Veteran light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira is expected to receive the next shot at the UFC light heavyweight title that’s currently held by Jan Blachowicz.
Moreover, Aleksandar Rakic has now fired back at Thiago Santos via Twitter. Fans can check out Rakic's tweets below.
