Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz will look to bounce back from his submission loss to Glover Teixeira at the expense of No. 3-ranked title contender Aleksandar Rakic when they hook ‘em up in the UFC “Fight Night” main event on March 26, 2022 inside Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The bookies at Fan Duel are deadlocked on the betting odds for this pivotal 205-pound headliner. Both combatants are currently listed at -110 but just like any fight, that line is likely to change as money starts trickling in. That said, I think it’s fair to say this contest is evenly matched based on their respective journeys to date.
Blachowicz (28-9) captured the light heavyweight title with a thunderous knockout victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 in late 2020, then defended the belt against Israel Adesanya the following March. Unfortunately for fans of “Polish Power,” Blachowicz folded fairly easily in his return against Teixeira.
Rakic (14-2) jumped out to four straight wins under the UFC banner with two first-round knockouts, then suffered a setback when the judges sided with Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night 165. “Rocket” got back on his horse and rattled off another two victories over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos to keep his spot in the 205-pound title chase.
The winner of Blachowicz vs. Rakic will top a very short list of contenders hoping to score the first crack at the winner of Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka, who are expected to do battle at some point in early-to-mid 2022.