Aleksandar Rakic wants Israel Adesanya to win UFC light heavyweight champion so he can "take his legacy"
UFC light heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic is excited to see how Israel Adesanya's quest for the throne will unfold at UFC 259. Rakic is confident that if "The Style Bender" becomes a two-division champion, he will have an opportunity to take Adesanya's legacy.
Rakic, 28, is currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC light heavyweight division rankings. He is coming off an impressive win against a former title contender, Anthony Smith, and is now set to fight Thiago Santos on March 6 at UFC 259. On the same day, Adesanya is expected to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Rakic spoke about how things will stack up in the light heavyweight division if Adesanya beats Blachowicz.
"If he (Israel Adesanya) becomes the champion and he’s a two-division champion, then he’s gonna need to face me and it’s not gonna be a good night for him. All his legacy and all his credit is gonna come to me," Rakic told MMA Junkie. "Jan Blachowicz he’s a very tough guy and a very strong guy. I see this fight 50-50. It’s gonna be very interesting for me, and I’m gonna watch closely, first row, to see who’s gonna be my next opponent in the future," said Rakic.
Rakic also added that it would be interesting to see how Adesanya will fare in the light heavyweight division, since there is a significant weight difference between a natural middleweight who generally competes at 185 pounds and a light heavyweight fighter who weighs 20 pounds more.
Will Aleksandar Rakic be fighting for the title soon?
Aleksandar Rakic snatched a big win against Anthony Smith, which propelled him to the UFC light heavyweight division's top five. If the 28-year-old beats Thiago Santos at UFC 259, he will most likely unseat the Brazilian from the No. 2 position in the lightweight rankings.
However, Glover Teixeira is the one who stands at the forefront of the queue to lay a claim on the championship. The 41-year-old is on a five-fight win streak and will certainly battle for the title against either Israel Adesanya or Jan Blachowicz.
With that being said, even if Aleksandar Rakic ends up being victorious against Santos, the Austrian may have to wait until the end of 2021 to have a crack at the UFC light heavyweight title.