UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakic odds and preview

The August 29 edition of UFC Fight Night pits two hard-hitting light heavyweights in need of a win, and it could get ugly. Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic clash in a crossroads bout that will narrow down the field of contenders in a wide open light heavyweight division.

Can Rakic get it done? Or will Smith pull off a huge upset? BetAmerica has you covered for fight night.

Rakic and Smith are both looking to rebound from losses

Rakic is a clear favorite here because he’s a big puncher facing a man with a questionable chin. Smith has been stopped nine times over his long career and was most recently mauled by Glover Teixeira, a fighter with neither the power nor aggression that Rakic has. He simply does not look good matched up with a man who has a 75% KO rate.

Though Rakic is also coming off a loss and looking to rebound, Smith is tailor-made for him. The Austrian is going to have an opponent who likes to operate in close quarters and may try to take him to the ground if he can’t out-strike him. This means Rakic should have a stationary target who might hesitate if he doesn’t find success in his initial game plan.

Smith needs to take this fight the distance

The game plan for Smith is making this a distance fight and hoping Rakic leaves himself open for a take down. A straight-up brawl will not serve him well. If he’s first in the exchanges and can manage to score some points on the ground, he could get Rakic to rush into a wicked counter.

It is not impossible that Smith could show enough grit to score a submission. He did it against the faded, but capable Alexander Gustafsson, and he’s only fallen to the best of the best. However, he’s going to have to be much better than he was last time he fought, because he’s in for an early night if he isn’t.

This should be an entertaining fight in the early goings as both men have plenty of faith in their power. Even though he may find Rakic as a one-dimensional fighter, Smith will have have taken too much damage to turn the fight around in time.

Rakic is going to test Smith’s chin early while staying mindful of Smith’s ground game. Eventually, Smith will end up on the canvas, but that’s after Rakic blasts him with a massive shot. The follow-up assault should signal the end of proceedings in the second.

UFC Fight Night free pick: Rakic