Apparently, there was some backstage beef at the recent UFC Fight Night 208. Shortly after “UFC London” ended, current Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pounder Aleksandar Rakic and former light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa had an alleged altercation when Manuwa attempted to assault his onetime rival, after which security personnel quickly intervened. Rakic took to Twitter to share a video in which he told about what had happened, stating that he was “sucker punched” by Manuwa.
“Jimi Manuwa, you piece of s—. You son of a b—. What a p— move you did last night on me. Guys, I’ll just let you know that after the event at UFC London, the security was escorting me to the transfer 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 pass by, and he talked to me [about] something — I didn’t really pay attention. I have nothing to do with that guy. For me, this is over. So I started to turn away, and he sucker punched me. And even in that close range, he couldn’t catch my head. I think he caught me with the forearm on my neck. The security was so fast here, and they separated us. Man, what a f— p— move. You knew that I would be alone in London by myself. You know that I had surgery nine weeks ago and you did this. Man, you’re such a bad loser. I want the people to know what a piece of s— you are. I’m going to stay in your head forever. I retired you, I knocked you out, and the world saw that. So happy retirement, ‘Mr. Sleep.’”
When Manuwa shared his side of the story, he didn’t deny that the confrontation took place. Instead, he stated that he “promised” that he would slap Rakic, and he did it.
“The fight is the fight and we all win and lose which is part of it,” he said. “When u try to talk s— months after the fight on twitter like every one of the keyboard warriors I promised you I will slap you when I see you. I saw you last night, how dare u think I wouldn’t.”
Rakic and Manuwa collided at UFC Fight Night 153 in June 2019, when “Rocket” rendered his adversary unconscious 42 seconds into their clash. That was the last Octagon appearance for “Poster Boy,” who then opted to hang up the four-ounce gloves. Since that occasion, Rakic piled up two losses and two defeats. In his most recent fight at UFC on ESPN 36 in March, he lost to former 205-pound kingpin Jan Blachowicz due to a knee injury.
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