UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic
After an excellent pay-per-view, the UFC returns to its Las Vegas base this weekend for another Fight Night card, this time on the ESPN network.
UFC Fight Night: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic features two top-level light heavyweight bouts at the top of the card, as well as a number of other solid fights.
A top 3 tilt in the LHW division headlines an action packed event š„
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Sure, this event isnāt close to a pay-per-view-level slate, but it should be pretty fun either way, making it watchable for any MMA fans.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic.
#1. UFC light heavyweight division: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Outside of the upcoming UFC light heavyweight title bout between champion Glover Teixeira and challenger Jiri Prochazka, this is about the biggest 205-pound fight that the promotion couldāve booked right now.
Former champion Jan Blachowicz is still ranked at No.1 and could argue he simply had an off night in his loss to Teixeira. Aleksandar Rakic, meanwhile, sits at No.4, with his only loss in the octagon coming in a highly-controversial bout with Volkan Oezdemir that most observers felt he deserved to win.
Essentially, the winner of this one is highly likely to receive the next title shot, unless Magomed Ankalaev really impresses in his upcoming fight with Anthony Smith. That means that neither man can afford to lose, but equally, they canāt afford to put on a stinker either.
Thankfully, neither man has been in too many stinkers over their time in the octagon. Rakic is somewhat short on finishes as heās only picked up two in his seven-fight career with the UFC, but heās also beaten both Smith and Thiago Santos.
Sure, neither bout was all that thrilling to watch, but the fact that the native of Austria was able to outpoint both men standing is, in itself, is highly impressive. Overall, āRocketā is a big light heavyweight, standing at 6ā5ā and possessing a 78ā reach, and he knows how to use it.
However, itās probably safe to say that Blachowicz is the heavier hitter of the two. His vaunted āPolish powerā has given him a total of four KO or TKO finishes in the octagon. Since he really hit his stride in 2019, only Teixeira has been able to beat him.
JAN BLACHOWICZ!!!!
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Blachowicz isnāt just a power-puncher, though. He sets up his big strikes by imposing a ramrod jab on his opponents, and more to the point, heās also dangerous on the ground, too, as he holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Sure, he looked vulnerable on the ground against Teixeira, but to be fair, the Brazilian is one of the best grapplers in the history of the division, and thereās no shame in suffering a tapout loss to him.
More interestingly, unlike Santos and Smith, both former 185lbers, Rakic wonāt hold a reach advantage here, even if heās three inches taller than Blachowicz. That makes this one a tricky bout to pick.
Itās likely that one of two things will happen here. Either Rakic will keep Blachowicz on the end of his kicks and basically pick him apart for a decision, or the Polish fighter will catch him in an exchange and put him to sleep. Both are equally likely, but given his experience and the fact that itās a five-rounder, Blachowicz is the pick.
The Pick: Blachowicz via third-round TKO