Report: Smith to return vs. Rakic at UFC event on Aug. 29
Former title challenger Anthony Smith will meet Aleksandar Rakic in a pivotal light heavyweight bout at the UFC's event on Aug. 29, sources told MMA Junkie's Farah Hannoun and Mike Bohn.
A location has not yet been finalized for the card.
Smith will look to rebound from a one-sided loss to Glover Teixeira in the UFC Fight Night main event on May 13. "Lionheart" suffered a fifth-round TKO defeat after getting rocked midway through the fight, but many believed the bout should've been stopped sooner, either by the referee or Smith's corner.
Before that, the 31-year-old picked up a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson. Smith, who's ranked No. 6 in the division, challenged Jon Jones for the 205-pound belt in March 2019 but lost a lopsided decision.
Rakic, ranked No. 9, is one of the most promising prospects at light heavyweight. He's coming off a narrow loss to ex-title challenger Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Busan last December. That defeat snapped the Austria native's 12-fight winning streak, which included finishes of Jimi Manuwa and Devin Clark in the Octagon.