Augusto Sakai

Last updated
Augusto Sakai
BornAugusto dos Santos Sakai
(1991-05-19) 19 May 1991 (age 33)
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb)
Division Heavyweight
Reach77 in (196 cm) [1]
TeamGile Ribeiro Team (until 2022) [2]
Noguchi (until 2022) [2]
American Top Team (2022–present) [2]
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [1]
Years active2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins16
By knockout11
By decision5
Losses6
By knockout4
By decision2
Draws1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Augusto dos Santos Sakai (born 19 May 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA.

Contents

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Sakai made his professional MMA debut in October 2011 in his native Brazil. In the first two years of his career, he amassed a record of six wins and no losses with all but one of his wins coming via knockout.

Bellator MMA

Sakai made his Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 94 in March 2013, defeating Rob Horton by knockout due to a knee. [3]

Sakai returned to the promotion in 2015 with bouts against Daniel Gallemore and Alex Huddleston. He won both fights via TKO. [4] [5]

Sakai faced Dan Charles at Bellator 155 on May 20, 2016. [6] The bout ended in a majority draw. [7]

Sakai faced Cheick Kongo at Bellator 179 on May 19, 2017. [8] He lost the fight via split decision. [9]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sakai made his promotional debut against Chase Sherman on September 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. [10] He won the fight via TKO in the third round. [11]

Sakai faced Andrei Arlovski on April 27, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. [12] He won the fight via split decision. [13]

In his third fight for the promotion, Sakai faced Marcin Tybura on September 14, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 158. [14] He won the fight via knockout in the first round. [15] Subsequently, Sakai signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC. [16]

Sakai was scheduled to face Blagoy Ivanov on May 9, 2020, at then UFC 250. [17] Due to the event being relocated to the United States, Sakai being unable to compete due to visa issues. [18] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed [19] and the eventually the bout took place on May 30, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. [20] He won the fight via a split decision. [21]

Sakai faced Alistair Overeem on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 176. [22] Despite his early success, he was eventually dominated by the veteran and lost the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round. [23]

Sakai was expected to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on May 1, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 23. [24] However Abdurakhimov pulled out of the bout with visa issues, and Sakai instead faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. [25] He lost the fight via knockout with one second left in the first round. [26]

Sakai was expected to face Tai Tuivasa on November 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 198. [27] However due to visa issues for Tuivasa, the bout was scrapped. [28] The pair was rescheduled and met on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269. [29] Sakai lost the fight via knockout in the second round. [30]

Sakai faced Serghei Spivac on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 40. [31] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. [32]

Sakai faced Don'Tale Mayes on February 25, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 220. [33] He won the fight via unanimous decision. [34]

In late March 2023, Sakai was released from the UFC. [35]

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

On June 3, 2024 it was announced that Sakai had signed with the Polish promotion KSW. [36] He challenged Phil De Fries for the KSW Heavyweight Championship at KSW 95 on June 7, 2024, losing by unanimous decision. [37]

Personal life

Sakai is the grandson of Japanese immigrants to Brazil and he works at an aquarium store between fights. [38]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
23 matches16 wins6 losses
By knockout114
By decision52
Draws1
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss16–6–1 Phil De Fries Decision (unanimous) KSW 95: Wikłacz vs. Przybysz 5 June 7, 202455:00 Olsztyn, PolandFor the KSW Heavyweight Championship.
Win16–5–1 Don'Tale Mayes Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs. Allen February 25, 202335:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss15–5–1 Serghei Spivac TKO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill August 6, 202223:42 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss15–4–1 Tai Tuivasa KO (punches) UFC 269 December 11, 202120:26 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss15–3–1 Jairzinho Rozenstruik TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai June 5, 202114:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss15–2–1 Alistair Overeem TKO (elbows and punches) UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai September 5, 202050:26 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win15–1–1 Blagoy Ivanov Decision (split) UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns May 30, 202035:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win14–1–1 Marcin Tybura KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje September 14, 201910:59 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win13–1–1 Andrei Arlovski Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson April 27, 201935:00 Sunrise, Florida, United States
Win12–1–1 Chase Sherman TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders September 22, 201834:03 São Paulo, Brazil
Win11–1–1Marcos ConradoTKO (punches) Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 1 August 10, 201823:09 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win10–1–1Tiago CardosoTKO (punches)Imortal FC 7November 11, 201712:17 São José dos Pinhais, Brazil
Loss9–1–1 Cheick Kongo Decision (split) Bellator 179 May 19, 201735:00 London, England
Draw9–0–1 Dan Charles Draw (majority) Bellator 155 May 20, 201635:00 Boise, Idaho, United States
Win9–0 Alex Huddleston Decision (unanimous) Bellator 145 November 6, 201535:00 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win8–0 Daniel Gallemore TKO (retirement) Bellator 139 June 26, 201525:00 Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Win7–0Matt FremblingTKO (knees and punches) Bellator 122 July 25, 201433:32 Temecula, California, United States
Win6–0Edison LopesDecision (unanimous)Golden Fighters 8December 12, 201335:00 Novo Hamburgo, Brazil
Win5–0Rob HortonKO (knee) Bellator 94 March 28, 201324:01 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win4–0Arley SimettiKO (knee)Samurai FC 9: Water vs. FireDecember 15, 201212:04 Curitiba, Brazil
Win3–0Dayvisson DanielTKO (punches)Evolution Fight Combat 3May 20, 201210:00 Curitiba, Brazil
Win2–0Marcio FernandoTKO (punches)Power Fight Extreme 6November 19, 201110:35 Curitiba, Brazil
Win1–0Cesar AlbertoKO (punches)Adventure Fighters TournamentOctober 15, 201111:54 Curitiba, BrazilHeavyweight debut.

[39]

See also

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References

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