With Jon Jones in the picture, an intriguing light heavyweight fight between Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic just got a whole lot more interesting.
Saturday’s main event already looked like a blast on paper, but now that Jones is stepping down from the £ 205 division and giving up his title (again), anyone who walks out of the UFC Vegas 8 headliner with a hand raised is moving, a considerable step closer to a championship opportunity.
For Smith, it would be his second kick on the can. The soon-to-be 49-fight veteran has become a trusted matchmaker name as he leads his sixth show in a row. This is a sign he hasn’t been far from the top of the middleweight ranking since his promotion. Smith has called for another title shot after a disappointing performance against Jones at UFC 235 and Rakic could be exactly the opponent he needs to cement his case.
Rakic’s scorching UFC start cooled off after giving Volkan Oezdemir a split nod in his last game, but only slightly. Some thought that Rakic actually deserved to win this decision, so a win over Smith would keep him undefeated in the eyes of his supporters in the UFC.
At the co-main event, the former welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler, steps in at short notice so that Geoff Neal competes against Neil Magny. While we didn’t get the much-anticipated Neil on Neal matchup because Neal faced a medical fear, this pairing is arguably more convincing as Lawler returns after a year-long hiatus and Magny gets the kind of top five opponent he’s followed since his win over Carlos Condit in 2017.
Also on the main map, Ji Yeon Kim welcomes flyweight Alexa Grasso, featherweight Ricardo Lamas meets Bill Algeo at short notice, and light heavyweights Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba clash in a rematch after their controversial UFC Norfolk game.
What: UFC Vegas 8
Where: UFC APEX in Las Vegas
When: Saturday 29th August. The preliminary six-fight map begins at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN +, the main five-fight map also starts at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN +.
Anthony Smith versus Aleksandar Rakic
The youth will be served on Saturday.
At 32, Anthony Smith is barely a crackpot, but with nearly 50 fights on his record, he’s essentially an eighty-year-old in fighting years. That kind of mileage takes its toll on anyone, especially when you’re waging wars like the one Smith waged against Glover Teixeira in May. Even the slightest weakening of your edge can cost you in martial arts. Against a prospect like Rakic, Smith could face a tough reality test.
Given that this is only a three-round affair, Smith’s penchant for quick results could serve him well. It faded against Teixeira, but that won’t be a problem here unless it goes deep into the third. Nonetheless, Rakic has shown that he can finish quickly so he doesn’t shy away from an early engagement. I actually expect both fighters to start swinging quickly, with Rakic Smith taking the big risk and waiting for the openings to counter.
Smith’s jiu-jitsu pedigree could give him the edge, but not if Rakic controls how the fight gets there. He’s a strong wrestler and if he can consistently work from the top he shouldn’t fall victim to Smith’s aggressive submissions.
Rakic by KO in the first or second round.
Selection: Rakic
Neil Magny versus Robbie Lawler
The blueprint shows how to beat this current version of Robbie Lawler, and Neil Magny is the ideal fighter to execute it.
Long and lean, smart and infinitely active, Magny has surpassed many opponents with deep résumés, including Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, Hector Lombard and Kelvin Gastelum. It is true that he stalled against high quality competition as well, which is one reason this matchup with Lawler is so compelling.
How far is Lawler from his prime? And will a short-term matter harm or benefit him? Remember, cardio was seldom a problem for Lawler and there was a long time he said he didn’t save up on his training camps. So how important is preparation for success? A back-to-basics no-nonsense approach could be exactly what Lawler needed to regain a top 10 spot on the leaderboard.
But as mentioned above, there is a tried and true strategy to thwart it and that is pressure and volume, two of Magny’s specialties. You can’t underestimate Lawler’s chances in a brawl, as he stays on his feet as deadly as ever (just ask Ben Askren, who just barely made it onto Lawler’s hit list), which is why Magny will cleverly avoid this scenario. He’ll mix techniques like he always does and never give Lawler the chance to get a pearl on him. That is the key to a Magny decision victory.
Selection: Magny
Alexa Grasso versus Ji Yeon Kim
They didn’t give Alexa Grasso an easy matchup for her first fight at 125 pounds.
It’s a clichéd way of describing a South Korean fighter, but the fact is that the country produces some of the most stubborn and aggressive competitors to MMA, and Ji Yeon Kim is no different. She leads people downstairs, chooses their places, and remains steadfast no matter what her opponent throws at them. Only from a mental point of view is it a burden that anyone can deal with.
I think Grasso is exactly the kind of fighter that benefits from competing closer to her real weight. Apart from a career best against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Grasso never lived up to the considerable hype she brought into the UFC strawweight division. At flyweight she gets a fresh start and one that is not hampered by a brutal weight loss that affects her performance.
This should be a fun standup fight that results in a close call to the scorecards. Grasso is more technical in her approach and she has some pop in her hands too, so I’m going to give her the edge, which is the hardest fight on the main map.
Selection: Graasso
Ricardo Lamas versus Bill Algeo
Bill Algeo could become the newest product in the Contender range to shock a UFC veteran. In February we saw Tim Means from newcomer Daniel Rodriguez and three months later Miguel Baeza came out of nowhere to defeat Matt Brown. The point is, don’t sleep on these unknown fighters.
That shouldn’t be a problem with Ricardo Lamas, who always brings it up on fight night. There is definitely a big drop in the naming of Lamas’ usual adversaries, so it will be crucial for him to assess Algeo’s talents early on and work from there. As counterintuitive as it sounds, Algeo could benefit from getting out the gates hot and looking llamas straight in the face. This is an easy strategy when you’re not the one in the octagon with an animal like llamas.
Algeo will cause some problems for llamas. It’s a great size for a featherweight and knows how to use it. He has long limbs that he uses to threaten ground submission, so llamas must be thoughtful with his ground and pound. I’m assuming Lamas will screw up this fight, and I don’t see Algeo as enough firepower to match Lamas punch after punch.
Llamas by knockout.
Selection: Llamas
Magomed Ankalaev versus Ion Cutelaba
After the last time between these two, it almost seems silly to predict how their rematch might go, doesn’t it?
The intense pre-fight antics between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba were overshadowed – in relation to referee Kevin MacDonald – by one of the worst interruptions in recent history. Previously, we’d got the best possible result between these two light heavyweights, a wild scrap of headbuttings and haymakers that were given seconds to play with.
I predicted that their first fight would be dictated by Ankalaev’s altercation, and I still see that this is the case here. There will be a fun exchange on the feet, but if Ankalaev can avoid an early stumble, his wrestling will allow him to avoid trouble should Cutelaba get his hands moving. I’m going by decision with my original Ankalaev prediction, but it’s really everyone’s guess as to how this bizarre saga will end.
Selection: Ankalaev
Preparations
Impa Kasanganay def. Maki Pitolo
Zak Cummings def. Alessio Di Chirico
Alex Caceres def. Austin Springer
Sean brady def. Christian Aguilera
Polyana Viana def. Emily Whitmire
Mallory Martin def. Hannah Cifers
