Aleksandar Rakic gets his hand raised after defeating Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 8
Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 8
UFC Vegas 8 brought us a new top ranked light heavyweight as Aleksandar Rakic got a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Anthony Smith. That win puts Rakic in position for a big time fight.
The event also saw Neil Magny earn a win over UFC legend Robbie Lawler. That win puts Magny second on the all time list for wins in the welterweight division. The only fighter with more wins at 170 pounds is Georges St-Pierre.
With all that being said, let’s find out what’s next for these fighters on the Matchmaker Monday.
Aleksandar Rakic
Result: defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 8
Next: loser of Dominic Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz or loser of Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
Rakic looked good in his win over Smith in which he won every single round. Now he’s earned a big time fight and for good reason.
He’s 13-2 as a professional, he has a highlight reel KO on his UFC resume and now he beat a top five fighter, who previously fought for a world title.
I imagine he’ll be ranked No. 5 when the UFC updates their rankings. If he’s not five, he’s going to be pretty close to it.
With Jon Jones vacating the light heavyweight title, Dominic Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will fight for the interim title. The winner of that fight will face the winner of Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira. Give Rakic one of the losers from those contests and see if he can keep up the good run he’s on.
Anthony Smith
Result: lost to Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 8
Next: Nikita Krylov
Wow. Smith is in a bad spot right now.
First he got man handled by an old Glover Teixeira in a fight where he was a favorite to win. Now he gets shut out by Aleksandar Rakic.
Smith needs a win badly if he wants to get start making his way back into contention and up next I believe you can see him matched up with Nikita Krylov.
Krylov is coming off a big win over Johnny Walker in March and he’s currently ranked No. 9. Smith is going to be ranked somewhere close by to him. From a rankings stand point and from where these two are at in their careers, I think this matchup would make sense.
Neil Magny
Result: defeated Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 8
Next: Geoff Neal
Magny continues making history and now he’s earned arguably his biggest win to date.
Up next he should fight Geoff Neal. The two were scheduled to fight already and it appears that they both want to rebook it, so not much to really debate here. It’d be a fun fight and the winner would be ready for a nice step up in competition.
Robbie Lawler
Result: lost to Neal Magny by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 8
Next: Retirement
Robbie Lawler is a legend. No debate needed. His best days are long behind him. Also no debated needed.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m a fan of Robbie Lawler. How could you not be? He’s given us so many great fights over the years. But recently he hasn’t been competitive.
Luckily we haven’t seen him get seriously knocked out in any of these fights besides for his loss to Tyron Woodley when he lost his UFC title. I don’t want to see Lawler get hurt and I don’t see a path where he makes another title run. I want to see the future UFC hall-of-famer walk away. He’s given us so many memories over the years and doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.
