Anthony Smith believes Jan Blachowicz has a good chance to get back into the win column against Aleksandar Rakic.
Blachowicz and Rakic are set to headline UFC Columbus on March 26 as Blachowicz looks to rebound after losing to Glover Teixeira, which meant he lost his title. Now, he faces the surging Rakic, but Smith believes it is a good style matchup for the former champ for a few reasons.
“Jan Blachowicz is so good at dealing with kick-heavy fighters,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “It’s really impressive. Like you just kind of go back and watch, he doesn’t take that many kicks. People kick at him a lot because of the way he kind of plods forward. He dealt with the kicks from Adesanya very, very well – super impressive – and everyone before that.
“So Rakic is a really kick-heavy guy. He’s not much of a boxer, and that’s kind of how he started the whole problem with me. Just battered me with two real heavy kicks, and my calf was toast after that. So I don’t think he’s going to be very successful trying to win the kicking game, and he doesn’t like being in boxing range.”
Anthony Smith Explains Why Jan Blachowicz Is A Bad Matchup For Aleksandar Rakic
Jan Blachowicz also has legit one-punch KO power which he proved against Luke Rockhold, Corey Anderson, and Dominick Reyes. Adding in the fact that the Pole will march forward and make Rakic fight him, makes it a fight that is Blachowicz’s to lose according to Anthony Smith.
“Blachowicz is obviously a forward pressure guy, likes to stay in boxing range,” Smith added. “I think he deals with kicks well. I think he’s the better wrestler. Short of a big knockout, I think the more technical guy and the guy that has more ways to win is Jan Blachowicz. But you can’t take away the power and the crazy athleticism that Rakic has, and the dude’s got bulletproof confidence. He’s hard to shake.”
