UFC Fight Night is just around the corner as on Saturday night inside of the UFC Apex, we have a main event light heavyweight fight between the number-one ranked contender Jan Blachowicz and the third-ranked contender Aleksandar Rakic. These two fighters have both been dominating, and this fight could elevate them into a title match with Glover Teixeira in the future.
Last Fights Records
Blachowicz last fought on October 30 back at UFC 267 and actually fought Glover Teixeira and lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship as he was submitted by a rear-naked choke in the second round. Rakic has not fought since March 6, 2021, at UFC 259, as he defeated Thiago Santos via unanimous decision.
Matchup Information
MMA betting trends will definitely help tell us how these two fighters will look against one another for the first time. Let’s dive into each fighter to determine where we should be leaning here.
Blachowicz vs Rakic Betting Analysis
These fighters are very similar in terms of size, but the main difference is in their age and experience. Blachowicz is currently 39 years old and has 37 career MMA fights under his belt, while Rakic is 30 years old with 16 career professional fights thus far.
Jan Blachowicz Overview
Jan Blachowicz is one of the most skilled fighters in the light heavyweight division and just lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in his previous fight, so this will be a climb to recapture his title. Blachowicz is currently 28-9-0 and has fights end in all different ways as he has an almost even distribution of knockout, decision, and submission victories. He struggled against Glover Teixeira in his previous fight as he lost his championship but is still one of the most feared fighters.
He has won three of the previous four fights he has been a part of and is now the challenger after holding the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and being able to defend it once. Blachowicz has the ability to keep his opponents on their toes, so this means they have to prepare for all different scenarios.
Aleksandar Rakic Overview
Aleksandar “Rocket” Rakic is looking to continue his rocket ascent in the UFC Light Heavyweight division as he is currently 14-2-0 with nine knockouts thus far. He is on a two-fight winning streak after defeating Thiago Santos via unanimous decision to elevate to this level of the fight already.
Nine of his 14 career victories have been defeated via knockout, so he has an ample amount of power to win this fight convincingly if he can continue to provide a large amount of significant strikes landed.
Updates
Neither fighter has reported any injury or concern heading into this fight as of this writing, so this should be going on as listed, and both fighters are at 100 percent here.
Blachowicz vs Rakic Betting Preview
MMA betting picks is prevalent, and this fight is expected to be a close matchup. Jan Blachowicz is currently listed as a +135 underdog, while Aleksandar Rakic is the favorite with -155 odds.
Blachowicz vs Rakic Betting Prediction
Aleksandar “Rocket” Rakic has been rocketing up the rankings and should be able to dominate. These fighters are right in height and reach, so the main difference is the age, as Blachowicz is nine years older than Rakic. Rakic has shown the ability to dominate a fight while Blachowicz has struggled to get going and is coming off an embarrassing loss as he was submitted in the second round of a championship fight.
All in all, go with Aleksandar Rakic to dominate this fight and win via knockout to assert himself as the next challenger for Glover Teixeira and the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
How to Bet on Blachowicz vs Rakic
MMA odds are going to be interesting and differ depending on the sportsbook you go through. In order to bet on MMA, you would need to go to the sportsbook and click on their UFC or Mixed Martial Arts page to search for the fight. With this being the main event of the card, it should not be too difficult to find quickly.
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