UFC 269: Augusto Sakai looking to shake off unfamiliar feeling of losing

LAS VEGAS – Augusto Sakai finds himself in unfamiliar territory heading into UFC 269.

Sakai (15-3-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will aim to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Tai Tuivasa Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

The Brazilian, who kicked off his UFC tenure at 4-0, lost consecutive bouts for the first time in his career when he was stopped in back-to-back bouts against Alistair Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. But the No. 11 ranked UFC heavyweight doesn’t plan on giving up his spot to Tuivasa (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC).

“I did learn a lot, and I’m putting the pressure on myself because I’m not used to losing,” Sakai told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “If you look at my record, I have just a few losses, so I’m sure I did learn a lot, and we’re going to see that on Saturday.”

He continued, “I’m not used to losing. I don’t like losing. I’m a guy who’s used to winning, and of course this has an added bonus for what happened in the past and to continue in the category and to maintain myself in the division and still moving up in the ranks.”

Tuivasa is coming off a wild, first-round knockout win of Greg Hardy at July’s UFC 264, where he was rocked before landing the finishing counter. It was an impressive finish, but Sakai thinks Tuivasa tends to leave himself exposed in some of his exchanges.

“His style is exciting for me, of course, and I’m ready,” Sakai said. “I did study a lot of his game, so I’m ready to kill his game and do my game.”

He continued, “I did see a lot of holes. The thing is he comes in very strong in the first round, very aggressive, but I think he starts opening up some loopholes throughout the fight, and I think I can explore those as the fight moves along.”

The UFC 269 main card streams on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.

To see the full interview with Sakai, check out the video above.