Thiago Santos set to face Aleksandar Rakic in early 2021 UFC event

After suffering a loss to Glover Teixeira last week, Thiago Santos has already found himself his next opponent. The former light heavyweight title contender is reportedly set for a clash against Aleksandar Rakic in early 2021.

According to a report from ESPN's Brett Okamoto, the UFC is now finalizing a deal between Santos and Rakic for March 6, 2021. The event's location is yet to be confirmed or announced; however, it has seemingly been confirmed that the fight will not be an event headliner. Sources close to ESPN have claimed that the Rakic vs. Santos will be a three-round bout.

Here is the report from ESPN's Brett Okamoto:

Thiago Santos (@TMarretaMMA) has already accepted his next bout. UFC finalizing Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic in the first quarter of 2021, per sources. https://t.co/BFWRZUTxtx
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 13, 2020

Fresh off a loss against veteran Glover Teixeira in a back-and-forth main event last weekend in Las Vegas, Thiago Santos will aim to get back to winning ways against the dangerous Aleksandar Rakic. The loss to Teixeira was Santos' first fight since his title showdown against Jon Jones in June 2019 - a fight that many believe he should've won.

Santos lost that bout via unanimous decision and also suffered a very serious knee injury.

On the other hand, Aleksander Rakic is currently enjoying a 5-1 record in the UFC. The Austrian hard-hitter is on the back of a huge win over former UFC light heavyweight title contender Anthony Smith from his last fight and has multiple jaw-dropping wins to his name in the sport.

Rakic's only loss came against former light heavyweight title contender Volkan Oezdemir last December.

Even that things didn't happen as we wanted, I'm happy to be back after more than one year stopped. That was a amazing sensation, nobody can understand what I felt.
I just wanna say thank you so much first all to GOD, and to every single person that made this happen. pic.twitter.com/1C0khPOH2l
— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) November 12, 2020

What does a showdown between Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic mean for the light heavyweight division?

Thiago Santos is currently looking for a win after suffering two back-to-back losses in the UFC. For his return to the Octagon in March, Thiago Santos will look to put Rakic away and earn a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title. Rakic himself is very close to a title shot, and a win over Santos would almost guarantee one for the Austrian.

Division champion Jan Blachowicz is expected to defend his title against either Israel Adesanya or Glover Teixeira next. However, the winner of the Rakic-Santos fight is likely to receive a future title shot.