Aleksandar Rakic and Jimi Manuwa’s feud is alive and well.
At UFC FN 153 in 2019, Rakic and Manuwa first met. The Englishman lost badly to Rakic after getting knocked out by a vicious head kick.
This past weekend, Rakic claimed that things got physical with Manuwa during the UFC London event. He published a video describing the confrontation on his social media. The Austrian said that Manuwa assaulted him after the incident because of his vulnerability and lack of protection.
Rakic is currently nursing a devastating knee injury that derailed his career and handed him a loss in a clash against Jan Blachowicz back in May.
Rakic says in the video:
“Jimi Manuwa, you piece of s**t… What a pu**y move you did last night on me… After the event at UFC London… the security is escorting me to the transfer, to the hotel, back to the hotel.”
“And Mr Still Sleep was sitting [in] my row, at the end of the row, so I needed to pass him by, and I passed by and he talked to me something, and I didn’t really pay attention first, and the second I have nothing to do with that guy. You know, for me, this is over.”
Rakic added:
“So, I start to turn away and he sucker-punched me and even in that close range, he couldn’t catch my head. I think he hit me with the forearm on my neck… You knew that I would be alone in London by myself. You knew I had surgery nine weeks ago… You are such a bad loser.”
Aleksandar Rakic’s video prompted a response from Jimi Manuwa, who explained his actions by writing:
Manuwa went on to shade Rakic over how he responded to the altercation sharing an earlier exchange between the two.
“Same energy” Manuwa shared along with the following screencap
Rakic went on to respond:
“Where was the energy when I was in front of you? 😂
You had to wait until I had my back to you and you still didn’t manage to do the job.
Talking about energy.
As I said, happy retirement 😴”
Rakic is referencing his knock out here.
https://twitter.com/akhil56565/status/1551478291416088581
With major victories against opponents like Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith, the Austrian is recognized as one of the best in the division. He now has a 14–3 win–loss record in his professional career.
Rakic tore the ACL in his right knee during Jan Blachowicz bout, which will keep him out of action for a while. The recovery process for ACL surgery can be between six months to one year, so Rakic is likely to be out until 2023.
“God had other plans for me Saturday night,” wrote Rakic on Instagram. “Sometime we need to lose small battles in order to the win the war. Win or lose, good or bad the experience will change you. One thing I promise you, I will be back better than ever! This is not over yet, unfinished business [UFC] rematch! I waited for you to heal, now you wait for me to heal. Let’s run it back!”