By the Numbers: Jimi Manuwa vs. Aleksandar Rakic

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Austrian prospect Aleksandar Rakic is an exciting addition to the light heavyweight division. On June 1, he will return to the Octagon opposite scrappy veteran Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night 153. This battle of knockout artists will take place at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. Take a glimpse of this bout through these significant numbers:

Octagon experience

When Manuwa made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Sept. 29, 2012, Rakic was almost four months removed from his fourth professional bout in his native of Vienna, Austria. Rakic would fight five more times before getting signed by the UFC. He made his promotional debut on Sept. 2, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 115 against Francimar Barroso. The Austrian won that fight along with two more to tally a record of 3-0 inside the Octagon.

In Manuwa’s UFC debut, he stopped Kyle Kingsbury inside two rounds. He would win two more before suffering his first UFC defeat at the hands of Alexander Gustafsson. In all, Manuwa has an Octagon record of 6-5 and is currently on a three-fight skid.

Finishing rate

Manuwa and Rakic are both finishers who prefer to knock their opponents out. The former owns 15 wins by KO or TKO and one by submission, making for a 94 percent finishing rate. His UFC victims by knockout include Kyle Kingsbury, Cyrille Diabate, Ryan Jimmo, Ovince St. Preux and Corey Anderson. Only one of his 17 career victories reached the final bell.

With eight of his 11 career wins coming by KO or TKO, the younger Rakic is a dangerous striker himself who thrives on landing solid punches. He has one submission victory, which when added to his knockout record, make for an 82 percent finishing rate. Two of his triumphs were by decision.

Striking accuracy

Between the two 205ers, Rakic is the more voluminous striker. He’s only had three Octagon appearances but has already thrown 339 significant strikes and landed 181 for a 53 percent striking accuracy. Manuwa, on the other hand, has had 11 UFC fights but has only attempted 530 significant strikes and landed 287. There isn’t much difference in terms of precision though as Manuwa registers a 54 percent striking accuracy.

Takedown accuracy

Rakic was primarily a boxer and kickboxer before he started adding wrestling and grappling into his arsenal at 19 years old. His takedown game quickly picked up steam and eventually became an actual weapon he used in mixed martial arts fights. In the UFC, he has completed three out of the five takedowns he attempted. That makes for a 60 percent takedown accuracy.

Manuwa isn’t as successful with his takedowns. He has attempted a total of 16 takedowns in his 11-fight UFC career and landed only three, making for a lowly 19 percent takedown accuracy.

Post-fight bonuses

Manuwa’s power and aggressiveness have served him well inside the Octagon, having earned four post-fight bonuses. The man they call “Poster Boy” has collected two Fight of the Night (versus Gustafsson and Jan Błachowicz) and two Performance of the Night (versus St. Preux and Anderson) bonuses.

Not to be outdone is Rakic who never fails to turn in exciting scuffles. He, however, has yet to get a post-fight bonus.