Jan Blachowicz (Poland) vs Aleksandar Rakic (Austria)
UFC APEX, Las Vegas. USA
15.05.2022. 06:00
On May 15, another UFC Fight Night will take place in Las Vegas. Jan Blachowicz (Poland) and Aleksandar Rakic (Austria) will meet in the tournament's main event.
The fight will take place in the light heavyweight category. Blachowicz is ranked number one in his division's UFC rankings, and Rakic is ranked number three. In the bookmakers' betting odds, the favorite is the fighter from Austria.
Blachowicz vs Rakic was to take place on March 26, but it was postponed due to injury.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Jan Blachowicz: Former KSW and UFC champion
Blachowicz came to the UFC back in 2014 after beating everyone in Europe's biggest league, KSW. Things didn't go well here at first (four losses and only one win), but then Jan caught on and went on a 9-1 streak, becoming the promotion's champion.
His rise to stardom came from a victory over previously undefeated Israel Adesanya, who ventured into the ascending ranks. But in his last fight, the Pole lost the title when he lost by split decision to Glover Teixeira, another veteran. The trouble happened in the second round, but both in the first and second round. Blachowicz unscrupulously lost in the ground.
Aleksandar Rakic: On the way to the title fight
Rakic, his country's kickboxing champion, has only lost once in the UFC (in 2019, in a very close fight to Volkan Oezdemir) and is rightly entitled to expect a title shot.
Jan will go into the fight in top form as he is very strongly motivated. He is hungry and wants his belt back. It will be great to beat him. I've never been a champion, so my hunger is much stronger. I have a great team, and we've been studying him for a long time. He's a tough guy - everyone in Eastern Europe is very tough. Blachowicz definitely won't come out to fight me to lose. But I come from the same region. I'm no worse than him. I'll take the win and secure my title fight.
Rakic won his last fight by unanimous decision over Tiago Santos, and it was a dismal spectacle. The fight was frankly boring. The fighters spent more time just stupidly exchanging jabs.
Expert Betting Tips
It's unclear why Rakic is the favorite, but it's good news. Perhaps the bookmakers believe that Blachowicz has not yet recovered from injury. There is no other explanation. There will be no ground in this fight, and Jan will quietly turn on his Polish power. We can close our eyes and see how it will be - Blachowicz is pushing, Rakic has to step back, throwing away twos and getting a great boxing series, diluted with low kicks in return.
And even parterre, by the way... Blachowicz can transfer himself if he needs to. Just remember his fight with Adesanya. It was necessary then, and he did it. And Aleksandar Rakic is no Glover Teixeira in the fight.
My bet in this fight is on Blachowicz. I believe he is better as a fighter than Rakic. Jan is superior to Aleksandar in skills. Blachowicz is more focused, hits more accurately than Rakic, and has more power in his punches.
Nevertheless, the odds on Rakic are only 1.58, while the odds on Blachowicz are already 2.40. That said, the bookmaker has doubts whether the fight will last the full distance.
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