Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic UFC Fight Night Betting Preview & Picks

On Saturday, May 14 Jan Blachowicz (28-9) will be taking on Aleksandar Rakic (14-2) in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This fight will be a title eliminator in the UFC light heavyweight division. Blachowicz is a former champ when he won the belt against Dom Reyes. He also defended the belt against the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. In his last fight, he got swarmed by UFC veteran Glover Teixeira and submitted.

Aleksandar Rakic is the No. 3 light heavyweight contender in the UFC and is looking for a shot at the winner of Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka. Beating the former champ and getting past his legendary “Polish power” will likely earn him that title shot.

Rakic is coming off two dominant decision wins over UFC legends Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. This bout was postponed due to a neck injury to Blachowicz but is now set and going to be electric from the moment it begins. A classic showdown between a hungry contender and a legend that wants to get back his crown on top of the division.

Blachowicz vs. Rakic Breakdown

The younger Rakic has the size advantage over Blachowicz, which is rare to say. He will look like the bigger man in the octagon on Saturday and will look to use that size in the striking game and in his takedown defense. 

Both of these fighters have a style where they like to rush their opponents. Blachowicz seems to do it as a way to throw his hands and end up clinching up against the cage. But Rakic likes to end combinations with his deadly head kick.

Blachowicz has this habit of evading strikes by moving backwards leaning with his head back. This just seems like a perfect opportunity for Rakic to land that head kick at the end of a combo. This is something to look for in this fight. 

Rakic is the slight favorite in this fight, which is a fair assessment by the oddsmakers. I think there is a new wave of these tall, strong light heavyweights coming up that are dangerous. Blachowicz seems to have had his time on the throne and is ready to give it up.

Blachowicz vs. Rakic Picks

I believe that Jan is going to come out and try to pressure Rakic out of the gate. He knows that his way to win is probably going to get his bodylock, and then take him down and dominate top position.

Jan had a lot of success with that against Adesanya, but I believe that Rakic’s takedown defense is on a different level. He is very strong and actually very dangerous even from the sprawl position. He will hit Jan with shots and is good at regaining position on top and raining down ground and pound strikes.

Also, something to look for is the ‘drifting’ habit that Jan Blachowicz shows a lot in his stand up game that just seems to fit perfectly with a head kick landed by Rakic. It will be a tough night to take Rakic down and even tougher to beat him on the feet.

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