Augusto Sakai

Augusto dos Santos Sakai (born 19 May 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA.

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 Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 94 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 UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. He won the fight via split decision.

In his third fight for the promotion, Sakai faced Marcin Tybura on September 14, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 158. 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 UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. He won the fight via a split decision.

Sakai faced Alistair Overeem on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 176. Despite his early success, he was eventually dominated by the veteran and lost the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round.

Sakai was expected to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on May 1, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 23. However Abdurakhimov pulled out of the bout with visa issues, and Sakai instead faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He lost the fight via knockout with one second left in the first round.

Sakai was expected to face Tai Tuivasa on November 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 198. However due to visa issues for Tuivasa, the bout was scrapped. The pair was rescheduled and met on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269. Sakai lost the fight via knockout in the second round.

Sakai faced Serghei Spivac on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 40. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Sakai faced Don'Tale Mayes on February 25, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 220. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In late March 2023, Sakai was released from the UFC.

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
On June 3, 2024 it was announced that Sakai had signed with the Polish promotion KSW. He challenged Phil De Fries for the KSW Heavyweight Championship at KSW 95 on June 7, 2024, losing by unanimous decision.

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