Tale of The Tape for Anthony Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic

A battle of Top 10 fighters at 205 lbs. get together this Saturday as the main event of UFC Fight Night on ESPN when #5 Anthony Smith faces #8 Aleksandar Rakic live from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.

“Lionheart” Smith is the veteran here at 33-15, with a UFC mark of 8-5. But what belies the record is that he’s been in there with Jon Jones, Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, and plenty of other superstars. He lands just 3.41 strikes per minute and 0.45 takedowns per bout, but is as exciting as anyone in MMA: He’s earned a Performance of The Night bonus in each of his last three wins in the octagon.

Rakic has taken the UFC by storm, and will be in the title picture at light heavyweight with a win, and is the big favorite despite being below his opponent in the rankings. He’s 4-1 in the UFC and 12-2, and his UFC loss is a split decision in December of last year with Volkan Oezdemir that was certainly controversial. He lands 5.17 significant strikes per minute in the octagon, and 1.20 takedowns per full bout.

Here are the betting odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for Anthony Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Fight Night on August 29th:

Money line odds

Anthony Smith: +240
Aleksandar Rakic: -305

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