After a seldom week off for the UFC, they take the Vegas-based cage act to Stockholm, Sweden for 153rd edition of their Fight Night series. Stockholm’s own and perennial light heavyweight division gatekeeper Alexander Gustafsson headlines the main card opposite for Anthony “Lionheart” Smith.

Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith are two of the best light heavyweights on the face of the earth. The only problem with being a standout in the light heavyweight. After a seldom week off for the UFC, they take the Vegas-based cage act to Stockholm, Sweden for 153rd edition of their Fight Night series. Stockholm’s own and perennial light heavyweight division gatekeeper Alexander Gustafsson headlines the main card opposite for Anthony “Lionheart” Smith.

Anthony was the last man to challenge Light Heavyweight Champion Jonny “Bones” Jones. Unfortunately for him, he fell significantly short. The first round was fairly close but as viewers quickly realized, “Bones” was just feeling the powerful striker form Nebraska out.

Anthony’s nickname, Lionheart, was brought into question when he seemed to be slowly breaking throughout the fight and by the 4th round, he wasn’t making any effort to get off the bottom.

Easier said than done, yes, but Anthony had won numerous UFC fights after being hurt early on and eventually coming back stronger than when he entered the Octagon.

Potentially the same can be said of Anthony’s opponent Alexander Gustafsson whose psychological state has to be brought into question.

• Gustafsson wins in round 1; Any other result; Smith wins in round 2; Any other result; Gustafsson wins in round 2; Any other result; Smith wins in round 3; Any other result; Gustafsson wins in round 3; Any other result; Smith wins in round 4; Any other result; Gustafsson wins in round 4; Any other result; Smith wins in round 5; Any other result; Gustafsson wins in round 5.
• Alexander Gustafsson vs Anthony Smith Prediction & Betting Odds - UFC Fight Night 153. Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson (18-5-0) fights Anthony “Lionheart” Smith (31-14-0) in the main event at UFC Fight Night 153 in a Light Heavyweight bout on Saturday June 01 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. There is a clear point of reference in comparing these two fighters in that they both had their.

What is he still fighting for?

He has now 0-2 against the champion Jones and the second loss to “Bones” was quite conclusive to the question of who is the better fighter.

He’s too big for middleweight and, in my opinion, too small of a build for the heavyweight division.

Fighters aren’t mentally made to be okay with the fact that they are second best and Alex doesn’t seem to be one of them.

He has performed quite well on his home soil of Sweden, though, and taking into account both fighters psychological health, I would like to believe that Alex is in a better place.

More on how these two stack up on paper later on.

There aren’t a lot of huge names on this card but several interesting matchups involving some very good looking European prospects.

Let’s take an abbreviated snapshot of a couple of these fights, explore the main event a little more and check out the odds provided by the best UFC betting sites.

Makwan Amirkhani vs Chris Fishgold

Makwan is a Finnish fighter very proud of his Kurdish-decent and has one of the fastest KO’s in UFC history.

Here’s a shot of it.

Don’t blink!

Wow, I checked a few different videos and none of them were able to grab the normal in-Octagon view.

For obvious reasons, I suppose, because it was so fast.

Poor Andy Ogle…

I would like to think Makwan’s opponent, Chris Fishgold, will be ready…at least for a flying switch knee right out the gate.

Chris is a 26-year-old Brit with an impressive pro MMA fighting record of 18-2.

He is currently 1-1 in the UFC with a TKO loss in his first fight in the promotion and a rear-naked choke submission win in his last fight.

The English haven’t always been known for their grappling prowess but as quickly as MMA is growing around the world, it’s only a matter of time before we see mixed martial artists rounding out their games even further.

Makwan has five fights under the UFC banner, all of which have been held in Europe, actually.

He is 4-1 and his last three fights have gone down in his opponent’s home country of England.

I like the more experienced and longer fighter in this matchup of unknowns.

Makwan will have 4 inches of reach on Fishgold and with his heartwarming story of escaping his birth country of Iran after the Iran/Iraq war and fighting on Scandinavian soil, I would think he is being set up for a win.

If the matchmakers wanted him to be tested instead of showcased, it wouldn’t be against an unknown 1-1 in the UFC fighter from England like Fishgold.

Chris has some ears on him, though, and I don’t think they came from Karate class. If he can get it to the floor, we will see Makwani’s ground game tested.

That may be why the betting line is even.

I’ll take the length, experience, and explosive fighting style of the Kurdish mixed martial artist.

Aleksander Rakic vs Jimi Manuwa

Jimi is a powerful Muay Thai striker from England with a filthy left hook who has been inside the Octagon with plenty of top ten talent including a loss to main-eventer Alex Gustafsson.

He has lost three fights in a row, however, two of them by knockout.

One of those KO’s was to Volkan Oezdemir whose opponent, Swede Ilir Latifi, pulled out of the co-main event for Saturday at the last minute due to injury.

I was really looking forward to that fight much more than any other contest on the card,
honestly!

Well, as the likely late great Forrest Gump once said: “It happens”.

I love Jimi and his fighting style very much. He was never able to really establish himself as a top five fighter, though. He would win a few and when it was time to step up the competition, he wasn’t quite there for whatever reason.

One stat this is rather impressive about Manuwa is his reach of 79 inches.

Gustafsson Vs Smith Predictions Live

Okay, not too crazy when you think Jon Jones, but Jimi is only 6’1. Your reach is usually around the same measurement as your height. His is a good 6 inches more!

He will for sure need it against 6’6” Austrian fighter, Aleksander Rakic.

Rakic surprisingly will have a reach disadvantage of 1.5 inches albeit a leg reach lead of a quarter foot.

Rakic likes to kick so this may play into his favor. He will just have to watch out for the powerful counter of the highly adept Muay Thai technician Manuwa.

I would say that Jimi is a live dog here considering his crazy reach and heavy punches but I think his chin is gone or at least beginning to decline.

I would love to see the 39-year-old Manuwa put on a Muay Thai clinic and humble the young Austrian but when the chin is gone, it’s gone for good.

It’s a very sad but true fact.

Just check out this short docu on one of the UFC’s biggest superstars who really carried the company from the dark ages to the time of the Bonnar/Griffin fight that saved the promotion and maybe MMA as a whole.

I’m tearing up now just thinking about the heart of these warriors and how it can lead to irreparable damage that we can’t really see coming until it’s too late.

That leads me to my picks for this fight. I think the powerful Rakic finds Jimi’s chin early and invigorates the Stockholm crowd prepping them even further for the main event featuring their hometown “Mauler”.

Alexander Gustafsson vs Anthony Smith

I spoke already about the interesting and potentially detrimental psychological states of both main event fighters for Saturday night in Stockholm.

Now, let’s get to who is physically the better guy.

It’s Gus. He’s longer, maybe not strong but equally as powerful.

The difference for me will be speed.

As a wise man once proclaimed, it kills.

There’s also fight IQ. That doesn’t refer to what I mentioned in the introduction but, in my sometimes humble opinion, Gus has the edge.

I’m not saying Anthony is a dummy at all, but Alex is one of the most cerebral calculating fighters in the history of the UFC.

Anthony Smith could very well learn from his previous performance against the champ and said GOAT Jon Jones.

On the day of the fight, it will barely be 3 months since it happened, though, and Anthony has admitted openly that the loss shook him not only as a fighter but as a man.

Gustafsson Vs Smith Predictions Ncaa Basketball

Sure, you can learn but this rematch seems to be a little too soon for reflection. There has only been enough time to quickly move on because he’s fighting the second best guy in the division.

He is a live dog. I can’t lie. He can beat Gus. He has the powerful skillful striking to hang with the “Mauler” but I just don’t think he will.

In Conclusion

Even with the most intriguing and likely most exciting fight on the card being pulled last minute due to Ilir Latifi’s injury, I think Saturday should still be a fun one from Stockholm.

There’s a ton of young talent competing on this card with may of the oddsmakers left dumbfounded and putting out even odds on fights that may not should be priced as so.

I gave you one of those today as well as a favorite in Aleksander Rakic who should dispatch of the aging Jimi Manuwa fairly early.

It’s very hard for a fighter who used to be able to take 20 good shots to the jaw before they dropped to get clipped one decent time and the fight is over.

Then they start thinking about their long-term health, their wife and kids.

They see other athletes potentially affected by CTE and the atrocities they’ve committed and they begin to think.

If Bruce Lee taught us anything, it’s that one must “feel” instead because as soon as you even begin to think, you’re already hit.

Gustafsson Vs Smith Predictions Espn

Get those bets in early, ladies and gentlemen and enjoy what should be lots of striking action from Stockholm, Sweden.

The UFC is back in Sweden this week, and a home-city favorite headlines the event.

UFC on ESPN+ 11 takes place Saturday at Ericcson Globe in Stockholm. The event streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

A pair of former light heavyweight title challengers meet in the main event. Alexander Gustafsson (18-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC), who has come up short in two title fights, takes on Anthony Smith (31-14 MMA, 7-4 UFC), who is looking to rebound from an unsuccessful challenge of his own. Gustafsson is more than a 3-1 favorite with the oddsmakers, and 11 of our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking him to win.

In the co-main event, Jimi Manuwa (17-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) takes on rising standout Aleksandar Rakic (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at light heavyweight. Rakic is more than a 2-1 favorite, and he’s the pick of 10 of our 14 staff members.

Also on the main card, Makwan Amirkhani (14-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on Chris Fishgold (18-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a featherweight fight that virtually is a pick’em from the oddsmakers. But it’s Amirkhani with a whopping 12-2 lead from our pickers.

Damir Hadzovic (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is a significant favorite in the picks in his lightweight fight against Christos Giagos (16-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC). Hadzovic nearly is a 2-1 favorite, and all but two of our staff members think he’ll win.

And to open the main card, unbeaten promotional newcomer Sung Bin Jo (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on Daniel Teymur (6-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) at featherweight. Only one of our pickers is taking Teymur in an upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Gustaffson (66 percent), Rakic (65 percent), Amirkhani (61 percent), Hadzovic (77 percent) and Jo (71 percent) are the choices.

Gustafsson Vs Smith Predictions For Today

Check out all the picks above.

Gustafsson Vs Smith Predictions

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