Jiri Prochazka vs Aleksandar Rakic Prediction: Jiri Prochazka will be hoping to find winning ways

At UFC 300, which will take place on Sunday, April 14, 2024, Jiri Prochazka will compete against Aleksandar Rakic. The preliminary card now includes this professional fight, which is the eighth of thirteen fights. TNT Sports 1 and ESPN will both broadcast live coverage of the event, allowing fans to catch up with it. Both of these grapplers are coming off a defeat in their most recent encounter. 

Jiri Prochazka, 31, is currently the second-ranked fighter in the UFC's light heavyweight division. He has won 13 fights in a row over seven years, eventually winning a UFC title. It has been about two years since Rakic last fought. Jiri Prochazka quickly became the UFC light heavyweight champion in just three fights. He defeated Volkan Oezdemir in 2020 and Dominick Reyes in 2021, making it ten straight knockout wins. His fight for the title against Glover Teixeira in 2022 was very tough, but he won by submission in the fifth round. After that, he suffered a severe knee injury that prevented him from fighting Jan Blachowicz and cost him the match. Before the injury, Rakic was close to a title shot, having shown great improvement. He's planning a comeback after losing by TKO in the second round to the current champion, Alex Pereira. This was Jiri's first loss in the UFC, making his record 3-1, with all his fights ending early. Jiri fights in a unique and very energetic style, often unpredictable but effective.

Aleksandar Rakic aged 32, is the fifth ranked light heavyweight division and boasts of a UFC record of 6-2. Most of his early career saw first-round stoppages, but recently, he has gone to round three in his last four fights. Aleksandar Rakic has a professional record of 14 wins and 3 losses is on the same mission having not fought since he blew his knee out during his fight with Jan Blachowicz (2022) almost two years ago. That wrecked all the momentum gained from two unanimous decision wins over Anthony Smith (2020) and Thiago Santos (2021). Blachowicz was set to welcome him back, but he had to pull out after requiring shoulder surgery. Another blow, but Rakic is just grateful he can walk back into fire on the biggest stage.

Before his injury, Rakic was well on his way to a title shot and was getting better with each fight. His striking is ferocious and technical. He was also cerebral and incorporated his takedown at the right times. For the first time in his career, Jiri is likely the more consistent fighter in the matchup. While we never fully can anticipate how Prochazka will fight, we can rely on him being in prime shape, fully healthy, and capable of implementing his game plan. Furthermore, Prochazka just feels like a nightmare match up for anyone who hasn’t been fighting actively. Imagine feeling a little rusty and then trying to predict Prochazka’s bizarre offense? It sounds a Herculean task. In addition, Rakic cannot afford to fatigue at all, because Prochazka will be in his face trying to knock him out for every second of the fight.