Aleksandar Rakic believes he matches up well stylistically with UFC 205lbs champ Jan Blachowicz, saying “it’s going to be a very good fight.”

Rakic is coming off of a decision win over Thiago Santos at UFC 259, the same night that Blachowicz defeated Israel Adesanya to defend the UFC light heavyweight title. Blachowicz takes on No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira in his next title defense at UFC 266 in September, but Rakic and Jiri Prochazka are right behind Teixeira in the title picture, and Blachowicz is well aware that both of these young fighters are quickly moving up the ladder for his belt.

Speaking to James Lynch, Rakic said he believes he matches up very well with the champ, and he believes that his speed will ultimately end up being the difference if they fight.

“I think stylistically he would match up even better (with Blachowicz) than Thiago. I’m the fastest guy in the division. My reaction and my movements, I’ve been in the sport for so many (years). I started kickboxing when I was 13. I had my first fight when I was 14. The first fight, I fought at 68kgs (150lbs). This movement and this speed are always in my backpack. I have it always in there,” Rakic said.

“Of course, it’s going to be a hard fight, a hard battle, but I’m improving every day. I’m training and I have a hell of a team behind me. We work on every detail. The last camp, the quality of the camp behind me is amazing. After every sparring session, we record every sparring rounds, we sit in the evening together, and we watch the sparring. For example, the wrestling coach or the striking coach, if he sees something we could do better, right away the next day we work on this. The details. After every fight, you see a better version of Aleksandar Rakic. More fight IQ, better shape, calmer. It’s just a matter of time until the knockout or submission will come. I’m working very hard on this and I think it’s going to be a very good fight, me and Jan.”

How do you think Aleksandar Rakic would fare against Jan Blachowicz?