Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic faced each other in the light heavyweight bout at UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya, which took place on Saturday, March 6, 2021, inside the Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in no audience. There were 15 fights on the card. You can view UFC 259 results and fight bonuses. UFC 259 card gave fight fans all they could ask for.
In the five-round main event, Aleksandar Rakic defeated Thiago Santos in round 3 by Decision – Unanimous. Here is what happened in the fight —
Both fighters launched over 206 strikes combined in this fight, 192 of the strikes were significant strikes. Significant strikes refer to all strikes but don’t include small, short strikes in the clinch and on the ground. There were 3 takedown attempts between the two fighters. Let’s break down each fighter’s stats below.
Aleksandar Rakic full fight stats
Aleksandar Rakic was firing at a 51% accuracy, throwing 97 strikes and landing 49. There were 36 significant strikes, 8 of 47 landing to the head, 13 of 16 shots to the body and 15 of 26 leg kicks. Aleksandar Rakic went for 2 takedowns and landed 0.
Strikes Thrown |
49 of 97 (51%) |
Significant Strikes |
36 of 89 (40%) |
Head Strikes |
8 |
Body Strikes |
23 |
Leg Strikes |
15 |
Takedowns |
0 of 2 |
The current UFC record over the most significant strikes landed in a single UFC bout is 290.
Let’s take a look at how Aleksandar Rakic did against Thiago Santos.
Thiago Santos full fight stats
Thiago Santos landed 56% of all his strikes. There were 10 of 41 significant strikes to the head, 23 of 33 body shots, and 16 of 23 leg kicks. Thiago Santos attempted 1 takedowns and landed 0. Here are all the strikes Thiago Santos threw and landed against Aleksandar Rakic.
Strikes Thrown |
61 of 109 (56%) |
Significant Strikes |
50 of 103 (49%) |
Head Strikes |
10 |
Body Strikes |
23 |
Leg Strikes |
16 |
Takedowns |
0 of 1 |
Aleksandar Rakic won by Decision – Unanimous. The fight ended in round 3 at 5:00.
Results & Fight Totals
Event |
UFC 259 |
Date |
March 6, 2021 |
Fight |
Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic |
Winner |
Aleksandar Rakic |
Method |
Decision – Unanimous |
Fight End |
Round 3 at 5:00 |
Total Strikes Thrown |
206 |
Significant Strikes Thrown |
192 |
Total Takedowns Attempted |
3 |
Did you know: Max Holloway holds a UFC record over the most significant strikes landed in a single UFC match at 290. He also holds a UFC record for the most significant strikes landed in one round at 134. He achieved both records against Brian Ortega during his successful featherweight title defense on December 8, 2018, at UFC 231 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
View complete UFC 259 results and don’t miss all the UFC events coming up.