Aleksandar Rakic set for UFC heavyweight debut against longtime veteran

The UFC announced Aleksandar Rakic will debut at heavyweight against Marcin Tybura at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Belgrade, Serbia, marking a move up for the former light heavyweight contender. Belgrade Arena hosts a welterweight headliner between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez, with Rakic vs. Tybura a key matchup at UFC Belgrade. The move follows Rakic's four-fight skid at 205 pounds and a first-round TKO loss to Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321 in October 2025. Earlier he opened 6-1 before losses to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Magomed Ankalaev. Tybura, a former M-1 Global titleholder, is 15-10 in the UFC, entering off defeats to Ante Delija and Tyrell Fortune, with wins over Andrei Arlovski, Stefan Struve, Serghei Spivac, Ben Rothwell, and Tai Tuivasa.