Aleksandar Rakic had the opportunity to take a big step up the light heavyweight rankings at UFC Busan when he took on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. While Rakic had plenty of success in this fight, Oezdemir ultimately left the cage with a controversial split decision win on his record.

Speaking on Instagram on Sunday, Rakic issued a brief statement on this setback. He included a photo of himself moments after a previous win, and assured he feels just as victorious after his fight with Oezdemir.

Suffice it to say he feels the judges got their decision backwards.

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“That is the feeling what i have right NOW!!
He won on the papers but we all know who the REAL winner is.
No Excuses i will work my ass off to show my fans what I am capable of.” – Aleksandar Rakic on Instagram.

While Rakic doesn’t believe the judges got it right in Busan, Oezdemir begs to differ. Speaking on his own Instagram account, he basked in the accomplishment of derailing his foe’s win-streak and edging closer to UFC gold. He also praised Rakic as a future title challenger.

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“All my respect to [Aleksandar Rakic]! He is a beast and he will get his title shot one time for sure! As I said I had to stopped his winning streak and get closer to the gold. I made it and I’ll be back in that cage cuz I love it! Thank you all for the amazing support!” – Volkan Oezdemir on Instagram.

Prior to his loss to Oezdemir, Rakic was an impressive 4-0 in the UFC, most notably scoring a 2019 Knockout of the Year contender against British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa in June.

How do you think Rakic will rebound from this loss to Oezdemir?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/24/2019.