Aleksander Rakic believes he matches up very well with the UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
In a recent interview with James Lynch, #3-ranked light heavyweight contender Rakic revealed stylistically he would match better with the 205 champ Blachowicz more so than his last opponent, Thiago Santos detailing his speed as a major advantage.
“I think stylistically (I) would match up even better (with Blachowicz) than Thiago,” said Rakic. “I’m the fastest guy in the division. My reaction and my movements, I’ve been in the sport for so many (years). I started kickboxing when I was 13. I had my first fight when I was 14. The first fight, I fought at 68kgs (150lbs). This movement and this speed are always in my backpack. I have it always in there.”
Rakic (14-2) last fought in March at UFC 259, the same night Blachowicz defeated Adesanya to retain his championship belt. “Rocket” cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision win against fellow contender Santos to solidify himself within title contention.
Despite being within the the title mix, Blachowicz will be taking on #1-ranked contender Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 in September for his next title defence. It is not clear whether Rakic will be next for a title shot as there are other contenders waiting in the wings like him such as Jiri Prochazka. Although the current champ recently stated that he believes Prochazka and Rakic should fight to decide who’d be next for a title shot.
However if he was to face Blachowicz, Rakic believes he is more than ready for the difficult challenge as he looks to improve every day whether it be his wrestling or striking, the man hailing from Austria is looking to be a better version of himself.
“Of course, it’s going to be a hard fight, a hard battle, but I’m improving every day, said Rakic. “I’m training and I have a hell of a team behind me. We work on every detail. The last camp, the quality of the camp behind me is amazing. After every sparring session, we record every sparring rounds, we sit in the evening together, and we watch the sparring. For example, the wrestling coach or the striking coach, if he sees something we could do better, right away the next day we work on this. The details. After every fight, you see a better version of Aleksandar Rakic. More fight IQ, better shape, calmer. It’s just a matter of time until the knockout or submission will come. I’m working very hard on this and I think it’s going to be a very good fight, me and Jan.”
How well do you think Aleksander Rakic does against the current champion Jan Blachowicz?
