UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakić believes upcoming opponent Magomed Ankalaev will be an easier puzzle to crack than his previous foe.
Rakić made his return from a lengthy stint on the sidelines this past April at UFC 300. In what marked his first outing since tearing his ACL opposite Jan Błachowicz at the Apex, the Austrian contender did battle with Jiří Procházka.
While “Rocket” got off to a strong start against the former champion, he faded in round two and was ultimately stopped by way of TKO inside T-Mobile Arena.
Despite that setback, Rakić has seemingly found himself in another title eliminator this weekend at UFC 308, where Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena will play host to his crucial clash opposite Ankalaev.
During his appearance at UFC 308 media day on Wednesday, Rakić previewed his second assignment of the year.
Interestingly, despite the Russian being labeled a nightmare opponent for striking specialists like Rakić, the 32-year-old Vienna native suggested that the Ankalaev matchup is more favorable for him than his UFC 300 task.
“What makes me really happy is that the UFC gave me Ankalaev,” Rakić said. “I honestly believe that if I didn’t put a good fight at UFC 300 — it doesn’t matter the result, I would never get that fight.
“When I got the fight against Ankalaev, the name, I immediately said yes because he’s number two-ranked behind Jiří Procházka, who lost twice to Pereira, so this is the best matchup for me,” he continued. “Stylistically, it’s going to be a better matchup for me than Jiří Procházka.”
Rakić will look to prove as much by getting the better of Ankalaev, who enters Saturday’s pay-per-view in the Middle East riding an unbeaten run stretching 12 fights and coming off a brutal knockout of Johnny Walker in this year’s very first main event.
