LAS VEGAS – Augusto Sakai can breathe a little easier now.
The UFC heavyweight picked up a much-needed win Saturday when he outpointed Don’Tale Mayes (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) for a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC Fight Night 220. Sakai (15-5-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) entered the event on a four-fight losing skid and winless since 2020.
It was a tough spot for Sakai, but he’s now starting to put that skid behind him.
“I’m so happy. It’s been such a hard time in my life these past couple of years,” Sakai said at the UFC Fight Night 220 post-fight press conference. “I started here in the (Dana White’s) Contender Series in 2018. It’s been highs and lows. I’m here for redemption. I’m here to write another history in the UFC.”
Often, a four-fight skid can mean the end of a fighter’s career in the UFC. Sakai told the media he felt no pressure leading up to the event, but that was all a facade. The Brazilian did have doubts entering UFC FightNight 220.
“Every time those thoughts came into my mind, anytime anything negative came into my mind, I would flip the switch and thought of something else,” Sakai said. “I just thought, ‘I want to come here. I want to do my best. I want to prove that my training and everything that I’m doing is working. I want to prove my worth in this organization.’
“Every time that thing came, that aspect, I switched it and thought positive things and worked out all right.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
Augusto Sakai relieved to snap four-fight skid: ‘It’s been such a hard time in my life’