UFC Vegas 54 Fight Night Predictions: Blachowicz vs Rakic and more
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Vladislav Tchakarov
On the night of May 14, Las Vegas (USA) will host another fight evening under the auspices of the UFC. Jan Blachowicz (Poland) and Aleksandar Rakic (Austria) will meet in the main event of the tournament and determine the next title contender in the division.
Blachowicz vs Rakic: Fighters Preview
Jan Blachowicz Preview
Blachowicz joined the UFC back in 2014 and had a terrible start that would make most fighters quit – he lost four out of his first five fights.
More recently, the legendary Polish power gave everyone the heat in the light heavyweight division, but there was someone who interrupted Jan's successful march. Glover Teixeira prepared perfectly for the fight with Blachowicz and managed to stop him with a submission in the second round, thereby taking away the champion title from him.
However, in the ranking, the fighter is still in the first position and is the number one contender. Literally, one victory can fix the situation for the former champion.
Since he joined the UFC, Aleksandar Rakic lost a single fight in his first 7 events and it was an upsetting defeat with a split decision.
Gradually, this guy raised the level of opposition, and he won the most significant victories in the period from 2020 to 2021. For example, he defeated two former title contenders in Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. Nevertheless, we do not see him as champion material yet because none of his wins were completely dominant to date. Overall, most of Rakic's matches reach the scorecards and all of his victories came by decision.
Blachowicz vs Rakic Analysis and Predictions
Fight analysis – odds, form, past fights
It is an absolute shock to see Rakic as a massive favorite in this fight and this could be perhaps due to Jan's recent injuries. In each case, Rakic is not the favorite that bookmakers expect him to be. Blachowicz appears to be fully recovered and if we have to bet on a winner, it would definitely be Blachowicz.
Rakic has a solid height advantage but the arm span of both fighters is 198 centimeters. Both fight well on their feet but can quickly adapt to a fight on the ground. There is no doubt that Rakic has the potential to win this fight at any given moment but we also have to acknowledge another factor – he has never fought a 5 round match before.
We know that Rakic is perfectly capable of fighting for 15 minutes as most of his fights get decided by the judges. Will he be able to survive for 25 full minutes tho?
Another factor in favor of the Polish Power will be the experience. He has been fighting in the main card and the main events of cards for years while Rakic has never fought in the main event to date.
Aleksandr Rakic has fought 7 times in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and five of those matches played out until the decision of the judges. He is not as clinical as most other fighters in this division and never rushes into his fights.
On the other end, Blachowicz has fought 17 times in the UFC – he is a veteran in the organization. However, the majority of his fights also ended with the decision of the judges and while he has the knockout power to end a fight with a single punch, Rakic has a good defense.
Rakic is an unbelievable favorite and bettors around the world have been putting enormous amounts of money on him to win this fight. We expect a different outcome and a difficult fight for both athletes. We already explained that both fighters usually have long fights and it will be surprising to see this one end with a quick knockout or submission.
There is incredible value in the over 3.5 markets at BetMGM and if you want to be safe, you can even opt for the over 2.5 rounds which has been listed at 3/5 (1.60) right now.
UFC Fight Night picks: Shocking odds for Petroski vs Maximov
The Fight Night card is significantly shorter than the usual PPV Event card but we have some good fights to bet on and we found a rather shocking opportunity. This refers to the fight between Andre Petroski and Nick Maximov. Here is what we found out.
Nick Maximov Preview
Nick is a 24-year-old American fighter. He started his professional career in 2018. Before moving to the UFC, Nick played mainly in second-rate organizations.
In October 2020, Maksimov took part in the Dana White's Contender Series show, where he accepted the fight on short notice in the heavyweight division, given that he has always competed at light heavyweight. His opponent was Oscar Cota, who was 25 kg heavier than Nick. Maximov won by unanimous decision but Dana White was not impressed with his performance but promised to give him a shot.
Maximov's debut in the strongest league in the world took place in September 2021 in a duel against Cody Brundage. Nick won by unanimous decision. In the last fight, Nick defeated Punaele Soriano by a split decision.
What is he good at – wrestling. He is a basic wrestler that cannot compare to the best in the division. He has a brown belt in BJJ and mostly uses BJJ techniques in his fights. He has significant problems on his feet, he stagnates and drops his hands, and overall – doesn't make a lot of significant strikes.
Andre Petrovski Preview
Andre is a 30-year-old American fighter. He started his professional career in 2018. Before moving to the UFC, Petroski played in the Art of War FC promotion, where he became the champion in 2020.
With a record of 5-1, Andre came to the 28th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was strangled in the semi-finals by Brian Battle. Despite this loss, Petroski received a contract with the UFC. Andre's debut in the strongest league in the world took place in August 2021 in a duel against Michel Gilmour, whom he defeated by technical knockout in the 3rd round.
Petroski's last fight was in October of the same year. His opponent was Jason Hu. Andre choked him in the 3rd round.
Andre Petroski is a much more versatile fighter than Maximov and also has a background in wrestling. He is significantly better on his feet and produces a lot of takedowns. At the same time, he throws out high-quality and effective combinations on his hands and is able to demolish an opponent with one accurate hit.
The odds for Petroski to win this match are sky-high currently even though he is the better fighter. Nick Maximov is seriously overrated by bookmakers. There is nothing in his arsenal except for wrestling, but even there – he is not great. On the ground, Nick often opens up, and his takedowns are not always effective. This will be used by Petroski and he will be able to avoid transfers and take an advantageous position through sweeps.
In the stance, Petroski is head and shoulders above his opponent. Compared to Maximov, Andre hits faster, harder, and more technically advanced. We expect an upset for Petrovski and a victory at incredible odds.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
