UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Rakic Prediction – Anthony Smith vs Aleksandar Rakic

Light heavyweight fighters come to the fore at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Rakic as they set out to prove themselves worthy of a title shot. Jon Jones relinquishing the belt and moving to heavyweight has made every fighter believe that they can have the light heavyweight title wrapped around their waist. 

Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic lost their last bouts in the octagon and will look to make amends at the UFC Apex. 

Anthony Smith

After suffering a spectacular defeat in his last fight, Anthony Smith will attempt to bounce back in the win column this Saturday.

‘Lionheart’ prefers a standup striking game. But in his recent fights, he has rediscovered his submission game. He lands 3.19 significant strikes per minute with a 46% accuracy. Unfortunately, Smith absorbs 4.57 significant strikes per minute and has a 43% strike defense score. 

Read: “The Fight Should Have Been Stopped!”- Fans Not Happy as Anthony Smith Takes Brutal Punishment For 3 Rounds

‘Lionheart’ landed 27% of takedowns attempted in his UFC career and will look to use this a lot to unsettle Rakic. This should be his game plan, given the punishment he received at the hands of Glover Teixeira. The tactic will benefit him against Rakic, who also likes to strike. 

Aleksandar Rakic

The Austrian fighter heads into this fight after losing to Volkan Oezdemir last December. The split decision verdict ended his 12-fight win streak.

He presents a threat on two fronts, namely punches by which he has claimed seven wins, and head kick by which he has claimed two wins. Rakic lands 5.17 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 52%.

Read: THROWBACK: Insane Leg Kick By Aleksandar Rakic Knocks Out Jimi Manuwa

He absorbs 2.41 strikes per minute with 53% striking defense. His stats are miles ahead of Anthony Smith’s.  A striking battle should favor the 28-year-old.

UFC Fight Night Prediction

‘Lionheart’ is dominated on paper by the younger and more clinical striker. Worryingly for him, his attempts to take the fight to the ground could have two major obstacles.

First, he leaves himself vulnerable to a jab as his opponent holds a two-inch reach advantage. Second, Rakic is a hard man to take down and has an 88% takedown defense. Moreover, he averages 1.20 takedowns per fifteen minutes whereas Smith has a low takedown average of 0.45. 

Smith has a tiny advantage as he is used to competing in 25-minute matches. Hence, a 15-minute match will not be taxing for him. He can use his energy to push the pace and claim the fight on points. 

The chances of it are slim as Rakic is yet to lose a fight via a unanimous decision. He is younger, faster, has better stats, and could pick up his biggest career win against a former UFC light heavyweight championship challenger. 

Prediction: Aleksandar Rakic to win via 3rd round TKO