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Rakic (right) defeats Smith (left) at UFC Vegas 8. Photo: Playback / Instagram @ufc_brasil
If the preliminary file of the UFC Las Vegas 8, held this Saturday (29), in the USA, he was dynamic and had most of his fights defined by the fast track, the director, had all the games defined in the hands of the judges. In the most anticipated fight of the night, Aleksandar Rakic dominated Anthony Smith and won the match by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-26, 30-27).
The main card had only four matches, as the duel between Magomed Ankalaev and 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 changers started the way fans envisioned: just attacks. Aleksandar Rakic was slightly superior to Anthony Smith, until he applied a sequence of low kicks, which caused the opponent to accuse the blow and the fall. With the desire to end the duel, the Austrian lost his position and the American came behind him, but he could not take advantage and did not react.
In the second round, Rakic’s dominance became more apparent. He took advantage of his greater physical size and better conditioning, dropping his opponent to the ground and landing punches without much power, important as they were.
In the third and final round, more of the same: the visibly fit Austrian once again made use of his wrestling and jiu-jitsu and controlled Smith, trying to be more incisive on his punches. Despite not being able to win on the fast lane, Rakic did enough to impress one of the judges, who gave him 10-8 in one of the rounds and bounced back from the defeat of Volkan oezdemir in your 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. For his part, Smith, who was once in the challenger position, lost the second fight in a row, once again, being dominated by a top 10 in the category and experiencing a moment of uncertainty about his future.
Magny dominates Lawler and seeks record
Originally, Neil Magny would face Geoff neal, but he was a victim of pneumonia and was replaced by Robbie lawler. Desiring to win again after losing three fights in a row, the former welterweight champion (77.1 kg) accepted the fight at the last minute and soon realized that he made the wrong decision. Right at the start of the fight, Lawler took the lead and delivered the best punches while on his feet, but was shocked when he tried to bring the fight to the ground and from there, Magny’s superiority is evident. Much bigger than his opponent, he made use of his wingspan and managed the assault on the clinch or on the ground.
In the second round, Magny continued to fight without being threatened. Lawler, known for being ruthless in his attacks, could not feel comfortable in the fight and was unable to break through the barrier that the opponent imposed on him with his long arms and legs.
In the intermission for the third round, Henry Hooft, coach of ‘Ruthless’ knew that if he continued like this he would lose the fight, he was sincere in reporting the partial result and demanded urgency from his athlete. It worked initially, as Lawler went on the attack, but the barrage was momentary. Magny recovered and converted the assault based on his stroke volume, conditioning, and physical build.
At the end of the fight, the judges awarded the athlete with victory in all three rounds. Besides Magny’s performance, his numbers are impressive. Against Lawler he won the third fight in a row and landed 121 hits against 17. In addition, Magny is the second most winning welterweight in the history of the category (17 times) and is only surpassed by Georges St-Pierre (19). On the other hand, Lawler, 38, suffered the fourth consecutive setback, being the fifth in the last six games and experiencing the worst moment of his long career.
Lamas wins in possible last fight
At 38, Ricardo Lamas received much criticism for losing three of his last four fights, and many linked his poor performance to his advanced age. Against rookie Bill Algeo, the veteran was willing to silence critics and he did it, but it was tough.
Algeo, who replaced Ryan Hall in fight week, had no responsibility and caused a lot of trouble due to his physical size. If the rookie made a good impression in a balanced first round, in the second he stood out even more. He was superior in hitting and the best moment was when he hit a clean knee, which shook the opponent.
Realizing the imminent risk, Lamas came back different and determined for the last five minutes. ‘The Bully’ used his grip and dominated the opponent on the ground. He applied takedowns with ease, delivered powerful blows to the opponent and, precisely, won the partial by 10 × 8. In the end, Lamas won the fight in a decision of the judges by a triple 29-27 and was reunited with the victories. Excited, the athlete delivered 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
CARD MAIN
Light heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakic defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight: Neil Magny defeated Robbie lawler in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Flyweight: Alexa Grasso defeated Ji Yeon Kim by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas defeated Bill Algeo by unanimous decision (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 di Chirico by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Pen Weight: Alex Caceres defeated Austin Springer by submission to 3m38s from R1
Welterweight: Sean Brady defeated Christian Aguilera by submission 1m47s of R2
Straw weight: Polyana viana defeated Emily Whitmire ending 1m53s from R1
Strawweight: Mallory Martin defeated Hannah Cifers by submitting R2’s 1m33s
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