Santos, a one-time title challenger, aims to reboot his career at 205 pounds after a pair of high-profile setbacks. After earning a title shot with three straight knockout wins, including one over current champ Jan Blachowicz, the 37-year-old Brazilian suffered serious knee injuries in a gutsy but unsuccessful title shot against now-former champ Jon Jones. In his return 16 months later, he surged out of the gate but could not withstand the counter-charge of one-time title challenger Glover Teixeira, who submitted him in the third round of their meeting this past November.
To keep his spot, Santos will have to beat back an up-and-comer in Rakic, who is 5-1 in the octagon. In his most recent appearance, Rakic outpointed one-time title challenger Anthony Smith. The 29-year-old Austrian also owns a knockout win over Jimmy Manuwa.
Check out the UFC 259 live blog below.
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