UFC on ESPN+ 33: Anthony Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic are meeting in the main event of the UFC on ESPN+ 33. These two guys will have an interesting clash, with high stakes in it. The first wants to prove that he isn’t on the decline as many believe and that he still can be among the elite light heavyweights. Meanwhile, for Rakic, this is the biggest fight of his life and a ticket to the division’s exclusive club.

Preview 

Smith (+240) challenged Jon Jones in March 2019, and lost that bout via unanimous decision. Yet he did bounce back following that loss, against Alexander Gustafsson, and even if the Swed isn’t convincing as before, that win was considered a great comeback. Plus, it happened in Sweden in front of the hostile crowd.

And once many believed to see Smith reestablishing himself as one of the few guys who might take down Jones, and earn another title shot, he suffered a nasty defeat to Glover Teixeira. 

At first, he was ahead in that fight, but as time went by, the tide had shifted, up to the measure that Smith suffered one of the worst beatings seen in a long time. It appears that the Lionheart really is on the decline, with those two defeats coming after a severe thrashing. Yes, he did beat Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, and Volkan Oezdemir (the first two via TKO/KO, and the latter one via submission), but that was three years ago. 

Rakic (-320) is climbing the ladder, and the latest defeat was the first one for him in 12 fights. It came to Oezdemir, but we can’t say that he deserved it, furthermore… The Serbian who lives in Austria lost that one via split decision, and according to many, the judges made a massive mistake that day. The lone thing Oezdemir managed to do is to make a big hematoma on Rakic’s leg, and that was it. 

The UFC offered Rakic a new six-fight deal immediately after that match, recognizing a potential star in him. Now, it is up to the Serb to justify that and show his abilities. This is by far the biggest name in his career, and if he wins, we might expect him in some big matchup pretty soon.

Prediction

Smith has much greater experience. Not only in the UFC but in the main events as well, as this happens to be his fifth in this organization. This one will be in three rounds, just to mention that, and from our point of view, that might suit Smith better. 

On the other side, we have Rakic, who was pretty furious following the fight with Oezdemir, and who is very motivated to prove his worth and erase that defeat. This guy is on the surge, and even though he doesn’t have that much experience, we believe in his victory here. If he officially won that last fight, there wouldn’t be a debate about the outcome of this one, yet because of the judges’ mistake, we came into this situation. Bet on Rakic’s win.