Rakic (right) beats Smith (left) at UFC Vegas 8. Photo: Reproduction / Instagram @ufc_brasil
If the preliminary card of UFC Las Vegas 8, held this Saturday (29), in the USA, was dynamic and had most of his fights being defined by the fast track, the main one, had all the fights defined in the hands of the judges. In the most anticipated fight of the night, Aleksandar rakic dominated Anthony Smith and won the duel via unanimous decision by the judges (30-27, 30-26, 30-27).
See too
The main card had only four fights, as the duel between Magomed Ankalayev e Ion cutelaba was, again, canceled, due to another positive test of the second for Covid-19.
Aleksandar Rakic dominates Anthony Smith
The fight between the two strikers started the way fans imagined: just attacks. Aleksandar rakic was slightly higher than Anthony Smith, until applying a sequence of low kicks, which made the opponent acknowledge the blow and fall. With the desire to end the duel, the Austrian lost his position and the North American reached his back, but he was unable to take advantage and did not react.
In the second round, Rakic's dominance became more evident. He made use of his greater physical size and better conditioning, taking his opponent to the ground and delivering blows without much power, but important.
In the third and final round, more of the same: the Austrian, visibly in shape, once again made use of his wresling and jiu-jitsu and controlled Smith, trying to be more incisive with his strikes. Despite not being able to win the fast track, Rakic did enough to impress one of the judges, who gave him 10-8 in one of the rounds and recovered from the defeat to Volkan oezdemir in his last fight.
The Austrian, who revealed that his dream was to be in the UFC and fight in Las Vegas, fulfilled his wish and is now aiming for the category belt. In turn, Smith, who was already in the position of challenger, lost his second fight in a row, once again, being dominated by a top-10 fighter in the category and is experiencing a moment of uncertainty regarding his future.
Magny dominates Lawler and seeks record
Originally, Neil Magny would face Geoff neal, but he fell victim to pneumonia and was replaced by Robbie Lawler. With the desire to win again after losing three consecutive fights, the former welterweight champion (77,1kg) accepted the fight at the last minute and soon realized he made the wrong decision. Right at the beginning of the fight, Lawler took the initiative and delivered the best blows while standing, but surprised when he tried to take the fight to the ground and from then on, Magny's superiority became evident. Much bigger than his opponent, he made use of his wingspan and managed the round whether in the clinch or on the ground.
In the second round, Magny continued fighting without being threatened. Lawler, known for being relentless in his attacks, was unable to feel comfortable in the fight and was unable to break through the barrier that his opponent imposed on him with his long arms and legs.
At the break for the third round, Henry Hooft, 'Ruthless' coach, knew that, if he continued like that, the fight would be lost, he was sincere when informing the partial result and demanded urgency from his athlete. Initially, it worked, as Lawler went on the attack, but the blitz was momentary. Magny recovered and turned the round around based on his volume of strikes, conditioning and physical size.
At the end of the fight, the judges awarded the athlete victory in all three rounds. In addition to Magny's performance, his numbers are impressive. Against Lawler, he won the third fight in a row and landed 121 blows against 17. Furthermore, Magny is the second most won welterweight in the history of the category (17 times) and is only surpassed by Georges St-Pierre (19). On the other hand, Lawler, 38 years old, suffered the fourth setback in a row, the fifth in the last six fights and is going through the worst moment of his long career.
Lamas wins in possible last fight
At 38 years old, Ricardo Lamas received a lot of criticism for having lost three of the last four fights he competed in and many linked his poor performance to his advanced age. Against the newcomer Bill Algeo, the veteran was willing to silence his critics and he did so, but it was difficult.
Algeo, who replaced Ryan Hall the week of the fight, had no responsibility and caused a lot of problems due to his physical size. If the newcomer made a good impression in a balanced first round, in the second, he stood out even more. He was superior in striking and the best moment was when he landed a clean knee, which rocked his opponent.
Upon realizing the imminent risk, Lamas came back different and determined for the last five minutes. 'The Bully' made use of his grappling and dominated his opponent on the ground. He applied takedowns with ease, landed powerful blows on his opponent and, fairly, won the partial by 10×8. In the end, Lamas won the fight by a triple 29-27 judges' decision and returned to winning ways. Excited, the athlete gave a political speech and announced that this may have been the last time his fans saw him in the Octagon.
UFC Las Vegas 8 results
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight: Aleksandar rakic derrotou Anthony Smith in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight Weight: Neil Magny derrotou Robbie Lawler in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Fly weight: Alexa grasso derrotou Ji Yeon Kim in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas defeated Bill Algeo in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Middleweight: Impa Kasanganay defeated Maki Pitolo in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight: Zak Cummings defeated Alessio diChirico in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Feather weight: Alex Caceres defeated Austin Springer via submission at 3m38s of R1
Welterweight Weight: Sean brady defeated Christian Aguilera via submission at 1m47s of R2
Straw weight: Polyana viana derrotou emily whitmire via submission 1m53s into R1
Straw weight: Mallory Martin defeated Hannah Cifers via submission at 1m33s of R2
Comments