A big light heavyweight matchup is headed to the UFC’s Aug. 29 event.
Aleksandar Rakic will face Anthony Smith in a pivotal fight for both men in the UFC’s 205-pound division. The event does not yet have an official name, designation or location.
Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report from MMA Play 365. The sources asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
After a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure, Rakic (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered a split-decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir last December. Prior to that, the Austrian claimed back-to-back first-round knockouts against Devin Clark and Jimi Manuwa.
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Smith (32-15 MMA, 8-5 UFC) has lost two of his last three and is coming off a fifth-round TKO loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC on ESPN+ 29 in May. The late stoppage drew criticism with some blaming Smith’s corner and referee Jason Herzog for not stopping the fight earlier as Smith continued to take damage in the latter rounds.
Smith suffered a broken orbital bone, smashed teeth, and a broken nose in the loss, but disagrees with the public’s criticism, claiming that he’d love to have Herzog referee his fights again.
