A. Sakai in victory for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

Scheduled to perform at UFC Las Vegas 70, this Saturday (25), Augusto Sakai goes in search of redemption in Ultimate. With four defeats in the last five fights, the Brazilian is counting on his youth and willpower to get back on the path to victory. Eager to show his evolution, the Curitiba native climbs into the octagon to face Don'Tale Mayes in a duel valid for the category up to 120kg.

In an exclusive interview to SUPER FIGHTS, Sakai spoke about his move to the United States in search of improving his skills, the support and value that the UFC continues to give him during his career, how he deals with defeats and how he foresees his fight ending next Saturday ( 25).

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“It’s challenging to leave where you were born. You have to readapt, you have to learn a lot of new things, but it's been incredible. Living here is very good, but it has its challenges: being away from your family, your home, being an immigrant. But it is very beneficial, being at the American Top Team (ATT), considered for several years as the best gym in the world, is very good. These days, out of nowhere, the Glory champion arrived to help with the striking part, then an Olympic athlete to help with the grappling. The evolution has been great.”

Preparation for the fight with Don'Tale Mayes

“It was really good. I was already training even without a fight scheduled, trying to improve what I needed. The fight was concluded in December, so from then on I already had a focus to follow. The training was the best possible, I could count on good training partners. I'm ready! At the 'tip of the hooves'”.

Moment of glory in Ultimate

“It's pressure (to be in a good phase), regardless of the moment, it will always be pressure to be in the UFC, so we need to deliver a lot here. But it's also something I've always wanted, I've always wanted to be in Ultimate, I've always wanted to deliver good results, to be considered a promise, to get closer to the belt. At that time (with four wins in a row) I was living it, I was so happy. It was the result of years and years of work and I'm sure I'll get back to that shape.”

Relationship with UFC

“I'm very grateful to the UFC for leaving me here after these defeats. In other cases and categories they would have already been cut. Many people question how I am here after four defeats. To be honest, if I were the owner I wouldn't fire someone like Sakai either. I'm a guy who tries to promote the organization in the best way possible. I don’t refuse fights, all the fights they ordered I accepted and I think they recognize that and continue to keep me here.”

Delicate phase in your career

"I'm cool. I know it's a big weight on my shoulders, but I don't care. I think the best thing about life is that, every day we can write a new page. So what happened served as a learning experience for me and now I'm ready to write a new page. Regardless of the result on Saturday, even though I am confident of victory, at the end of the night I will be proud of everything I have become after the things I have been through.”

Strategy outlined for the fight

“Being on the American Top Team, there's no way you can't do grappling, train takedowns, jiu-jitsu, we end up training that part a lot. I'm going for the knockout, I want to end this fight as soon as possible. However, we trained everything, so I'm prepared to use stand-up fighting and grappling, if necessary.”