Augusto Sakai (born May 19, 1991) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who formerly competed in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

and is now competing in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

division of the UFC.

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 debut for Bellator MMA in March 2013, defeating Rob Horton by knockout due to a knee. Sakai returned to the promotion in 2015 with bouts against Daniel Gallemore and Alex Huddleston. He won both fights via TKO. Sakai faced Dan Charles at Bellator 155 on May 20, 2016. The bout ended in a majority draw. Sakai faced Cheick Kongo at Bellator 179 on May 19, 2017. He lost the fight via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sakai made his promotional debut against

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervill ...

on September 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. Sakai faced

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and h ...

on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. He won the fight via split decision. In his third fight for the promotion, Sakai faced

Marcin Tybura Marcin Tybura (born November 9, 1985) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Tybura previously fought fo ...

on September 14, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 158. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Subsequently, Sakai signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC. Sakai was scheduled to face Blagoy Ivanov on May 9, 2020 at then UFC 250. Due to the event being relocated to the United States, Sakai being unable to compete due to visa issues. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the eventually the bout took place on May 30, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. He won the fight via a split decision. Sakai faced

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...

on September 5, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 176. Despite his early success, he was eventually dominated by the veteran and lost the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round. Sakai was expected to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on May 1, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 23. 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. He lost the fight via knockout with one second left in the first round. Sakai was expected to face

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC heavyweight ...

on November 20, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 198. However due to visa issues for Tuivasa, the bout was scrapped. The pair was rescheduled and met on December 11, 2021 at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. Sakai lost the fight via knockout in the second round. Sakai faced

Sergey Spivak Sergey Spivak (born January 24, 1995, as Serghei Spivac) is a Moldovan mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Wo ...

on August 6, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 40. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Sakai is scheduled to face Don'Tale Mayes on February 25, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 220.

Personal life

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

Mixed martial arts record

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, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 4:03 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 11–1–1 , Marcos Conrado , TKO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 1 , , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 3:09 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , , Tiago Cardoso , TKO (punches) , Imortal FC 7 , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 2:17 , São José dos Pinhais, Brazil , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center" , 9–1–1 , Cheick Kongo , Decision (split) , Bellator 179 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 9–0 , Alex Huddleston , Decision (unanimous) ,

Bellator 145 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

, , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 , St. Louis, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 8–0 , Daniel Gallemore , TKO (retirement) , Bellator 139 , , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 7–0 , Matt Frembling , TKO (knees and punches) , Bellator 122 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 3:32 ,

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 6–0 , Edison Lopes , Decision (unanimous) , Golden Fighters 8 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo (Portuguese for ''New Hamburg''; german: Neu-Hamburg) is a municipality in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital. As of 2020, its population was 24 ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 5–0 , Rob Horton , KO (knee) , Bellator 94 , , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 4:01 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 2–0 , Marcio Fernando , TKO (punches) , Power Fight Extreme 6 , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 0:35 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 1–0 , Cesar Alberto , KO (punches) , Adventure Fighters Tournament , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 1:54 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakai, Augusto 1991 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian people of Japanese descent Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Sportspeople from Curitiba Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters