Rakić on UFC in Belgrade: "It will be my night and the pinnacle of my career"

"It will be the pinnacle of my career to have my hand raised in front of a home crowd. Even though I grew up in Vienna, I don't feel that way; I've been competing under the Serbian flag since I was 20, and I can't wait for this match. A tough training camp awaits me to get in the best possible shape, and I'm convinced this will be the culmination of everything so far. I'm working on it physically and mentally. I just need to get through the whole process without injuries and enter the octagon as the 'Rocket' everyone remembers from 2019. If that happens, and I'm sure it will because I've put some pieces of the puzzle together, I think it will be my night," Rakić began.

"I will enter the octagon with the Serbian flag if possible, as the UFC sometimes doesn't allow it. As for the walkout song, I'm still thinking about it. It will be a spectacle, but that's less important; the fight is what matters. I expect the arena to be on fire; we all know we have the best fans in Europe, maybe even the world. You can see it at basketball games, and I actually sent a video of the fans to one of the UFC executives, who was blown away. They need to see that we are a nation that lives for the sport of MMA, and that's the only way we'll get them to come back. They need to see this is a new market with great potential."

"Maybe I contributed a little, but there are many factors and other fighters like Todorović, Medić, and others... As for the UFC coming here, I think Luka Nikolić and the MMA Federation deserve the credit for making it happen," Rakić concluded.