Augusto Sakai knows the future of his career could be decided Saturday night at UFC Vegas 70.
The Brazilian heavyweight was a star early on in his UFC career. He joined the organization following a win at Dana White s Contender series . After that, he won four consecutive wins against Marcin Tybura and Andrei Arlovski.
A split-decision nod over Blagoy Ivanov was followed by four straight knockout defeats to some of the division’s toughest in Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Spivac. Now, Sakai faces Don’Tale Mayes at the UFC APEX.
” I know that my head is at risk, but it’s possible to get off the hook,” Sakai stated on this week’s Trocacao Franca Podcast. It’s huge pressure. I know it. But I try not to think too much about it. I’m focused on giving my best there and performing what we know.”
Not many fighters can lose four consecutive fights in the UFC, but they still have another chance to get in the octagon. Sakai takes that credit and says that he did a great job his first time around.
“I believe the UFC has decided to keep me because I never turned down a fight,” said Sakai, who went 10-1-1 un his pre-UFC career, losing only to Cheick Kongo in Bellator. “I’ve had eight fights in the UFC and unfortunately I’m coming off this very bad run, but I had a great start in the UFC and they know my potential, they now what I can do. They know I’ll bounce back.
“If you keep thinking about the possibility of getting cut it’s all downhill from there, right? Although I understand the pressure, and the weight it carries, I keep my eyes on the prize. I try not to focus too much on extra cage stuff.”
Mayes, who is 9-4 with one no-contest as a professional, won back-to-back fights over Roque Martinez and Josh Parisian. His last bout was a loss, then overturned to a no-contest after his opponent Hamdy Abdelwahab failed a drug test for the anabolic agent metenolone.
” You can’t allow [Mayes] to much space, because he loves to do insane things like spinning attacks or switch stances. So you shouldn’t make him feel restricted,” Sakai stated.
“He gets uncomfortable walking backwards, in grappling exchanges. He likes it when you give him too much space. This is a knockout win for me. I’m ready. It’s been a while since I started training and now I want to bounce back. For me, it’s all about redemption. I will stay focused on the strategy and continue to search for the .”
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Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/25/23612122/augusto-sakai-my-head-is-on-the-line-ufc-vegas-70-ignores-pressure-redemption?rand=96749
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