SUNRISE, Fla. – Augusto Sakai took home a controversial split-decision victory at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 8 event but believes he was the rightful winner.
“It was a tough fight – really experienced guy,” Sakai told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter after his win. “Probably the toughest fight of my career, but it was enough to get the win.”
Sakai (13-1-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) edged out Andrei Arlovski (27-19 MMA, 16-13 UFC) in their preliminary contest at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
While Arlovski was the busier fighter through most of the contest, Sakai was the one walking forward, which was enough for him to take two of three judges’ cards. Those officials – Troy Wincapaw and Chris Lee – gave Sakai rounds 2 and 3, which is how the Brazilian saw the contest, as well.
“I think it was my lack of confidence in finishing the fight that ended up letting me not finish it,” Sakai said. “I just didn’t manage to impose what I wanted to impose.
“I studied in the first round, I studied a little bit too much in the second, and I didn’t manage to let myself go.”
Despite the controversy, Sakai is now 2-0 in the UFC and has a victory over a big name in former champ Arlovski. Nevertheless, Sakai said he’s not going to call anybody out just yet, instead saying he’ll face whatever the UFC brings
“I’m really happy to be here and be able to do my job,” Sakai said. “It was a tough fight, faced a veteran of the sport, a very experienced fighter. I felt I should’ve thrown a little bit more volume, but now is time to go home, rest, fix my mistakes and come back to get my third win in the UFC.
“It wasn’t my best performance, but I was able to get the win. Now, I’ll take one step at a time, I don’t want to rush. I’ll go back home, train, work on my mistakes and see what UFC has stored for me next. I’ll be ready.”
To hear from Sakai, check out the video above.
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