USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 1: Aleksander Rakic makes his move

Light heavyweight has become an interesting division in recent months, and Aleksander Rakic is an interesting fighter.

In case there was any doubt heading into UFC on ESPN+ 33, there was none coming out of it: [autotag]Aleksander Rakic[/autotag] is a force to be reckoned with in the light heavyweight division.

Saturday night in Las Vegas, Rakic (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) took on one of the most well-respected names at 205 pounds in Anthony Smith (32-16 MMA, 8-4 UFC), and he stated his case as a contender on the rise with a convincing unanimous decision victory.

That’s good enough to put Rakic into the top 10 of a division which has gotten mighty interesting in recent months, as he jumps five spots from No. 14 to No. 9.

That wasn’t the only fight of note UFC on ESPN+ 33, as there were noteworthy results up and down the card. So to see where the evenings winners and losers placed — or to check out where your favorite or least-favorite fighters currently stand, check out the latest USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, sorted by division in the drop-down menu above.

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