LAS VEGAS – Augusto Sakai won’t enter the octagon under ideal circumstances, but that doesn’t faze the Brazilian.
The heavyweight returns to the cage Saturday looking to bounce back from a four-fight losing skid against Don’Tale Mayes at UFC Fight Night 220. The fight is part of the main card at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.
Many would feel pressured by the skid. But Sakai (15-5-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) is confident he can get past Mayes (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and put it behind him.
“I felt the pressure way more before,” Sakai told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 220 media day. “I don’t feel the pressure as much as I felt it in the past. I think that whatever happened is past, and I’m here to write a different history. I’ve worked hard to be in this position.
“I’m used to it. I’ve been here before. I don’t pressure myself in that sense. I’m not beating myself up over it. I want to get a win, get in a win streak. I know how much I’m worth. I know my value as a person and I want to write a different history in the UFC.”
Sakai was finished in all four of the losses in his current stretch, but they came against top contenders in Serghei Spivac, Tai Tuivasa, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alistair Overeem.
The 31-year-old thinks there have been plenty of positives to take from those performances, and plenty of lessons, as well. Sakai, who trains at American Top Team in Florida, thinks fans are in for a much improved version of himself Saturday.
“For every fight, there are good moments and bad moments that you can take away from it, and it’s always a learning experience,” Sakai said. “I would say that there are things that I did well that we actually emphasized, and there are things that were not done so well.
“You can rest assured that we’ve been working very hard at it, training very hard. I’m becoming a better athlete, a better person. You’ll see that on Saturday: a new Augusto Sakai.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
