Jan Błachowicz vs Aleksandar Rakic betting tips | UFC Fight Night

Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic clash in the main event of UFC on ESPN 36 this Saturday night in Las Vegas. The winner of this bout will in all likelihood be next in line to face the winner of Glover Teixeira vs. Jirí Prochazka for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Light Heavyweight: Jan Błachowic vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Aleksandar Rakic record, form & results

Aleksandar Rakic (14-2-0) has bounced back from his split decision loss against Volkan Oezdemir back in 2019 with back-to-back decision wins over Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith. Rakic is 14-1 over his last 15 fights including a 6-1 record in the UFC. He has nine knockout wins in his career, though four of his six victories in the UFC have come via decision.

Jan Blachowicz record, form & results

Jan Blachowicz (28-9) will be back in the familiar underdog role on Saturday night. Blachowicz was actually a rare favorite in his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship match against Glover Teixeira when he suffered a surprising submission loss in the second round at UFC 267. Prior to that loss to Teixeira, Blachowicz had gone 9-1 over his previous 10 fights including five straight wins in which he defeated Dominick Reyes to win the light heavyweight title and successfully defended that title against Israel Adesanya.

Jan Blachowicz & Aleksandar Rakic betting prediction

Despite his dominance in recent years, Blachowicz has failed to earn the respect of UFC bettors. The former champion closed as an underdog against Adesanya, Reyes, and Luke Rockhold before going on to win all of those fights convincingly. And despite this looking like a pretty even matchup on paper, bettors are once again going the other way in making Rakic a convincing favorite with the top betting sites.

Rakic being the favorite in this bout isn’t out of line; he has looked great since joining the UFC in 2017 and his recent wins over Santos and Smith suggest he’s ready or this shot. But the fact remains that Blachowicz enters this bout with a lot more experience in fights against elite competition, and he also has the edge in power with three of his last five wins coming by way of knockout. Rakic would be worth consideration if this fight were on the board at closer to even money odds, but Jan Blachowicz is the clear play as an all-too-often overlooked underdog.

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