Augusto Sakai


Augusto dos Santos Sakai is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator MMA who is now currently competing in the Heavyweight division of UFC. As of June 30, he is #9 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

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 on September 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.
Sakai faced Andrei Arlovski on April 27, 2019 at. He won the fight via split decision.
In his third fight for the promotion, Sakai faced Marcin Tybura on September 14, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 16. 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, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the eventually the bout took place on May 30, 2020 at. He won the fight via a split decision.
Sakai is expected to face Alistair Overeem on September 5, 2020.

Personal life

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

Mixed martial arts record