UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakic odds, best bet

UFC Fight Night takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic.

Here's the top play for the event:

Ankalaev-Cutelaba under 1.5 rounds (+100)

All one has to do is re-watch the first fight between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba to know this is a steal.

The two light heavyweight prospects met at UFC Norfolk in February, with Ankalaev picking up a controversial TKO win in the first round. He landed a series of head kicks that appeared to hurt Cutelaba less than a minute into the fight, and the referee stepped in as Cutelaba was throwing a punch. Cutelaba immediately protested the stoppage and said afterward he pretended to look dazed in order to lure his opponent in.

Ideally, we won't see another controversial ending, but the rematch shouldn't play out much differently otherwise. Ankalaev and Cutelaba are two of the hardest hitters in the 205-pound division, and neither backs down from a fight; we saw that in their first encounter when they immediately started to slug it out, and it should be much of the same Saturday.

Cutelaba would be wise to change his approach, though, as he almost immediately got cracked against Ankalaev. He'd likely do well - or at least better - fighting a more patient, measured bout. But that's not who Cutelaba is, and it seems highly unlikely he's completely revamped his game plan in a matter of months. It's as if looking for the kill is in Cutelaba's DNA.

As for Ankalaev, there's no reason to think he will sit back in the rematch. He pressed Cutelaba early in their first fight and had success with his high kicks. Yes, the stoppage was ridiculously early, but Ankalaev could've easily landed a couple more shots and put Cutelaba out. Ankalaev will enter the second bout under the assumption he can put on a repeat performance as the more accurate striker, and he's definitely capable of doing so.

The finish in the first bout was certainly no fluke, either. Nearly half of Ankalaev's 13 pro wins have ended in a first-round stoppage, while 12 of Cutelaba's 17 pro fights haven't seen the second round. These guys are finishers. When they face each other in the Octagon, a first-round stoppage is simply the most probable outcome. It's easy to see the value in an under 1.5 rounds prop at plus money.

Here are the full odds from theScore Bet for UFC Fight Night on Aug. 29:

Main card

Aleksandar Rakic (-300) vs. Anthony Smith (+240)
Neil Magny (-240) vs. Robbie Lawler (+190)
Alexa Grasso (-310) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (+245)
Ricardo Lamas (-290) vs. Bill Algeo (+235)
Magomed Ankalaev (-330) vs. Ion Cutelaba (+260)

Preliminary card

Impa Kasanganay (-135) vs. Maki Pitolo (+105)
Mallory Martin (-310) vs. Hannah Cifers (+245)
Alessio Di Chirico (-115) vs. Zak Cummings (-115)
Alex Caceres (TBD) vs. Austin Springer (TBD)
Emily Whitmire (-140) vs. Polyana Viana (+110)
Sean Brady (-400) vs. Christian Aguilera (+300)