Augusto Sakai is off to a great start to his UFC tenure and hopes to keep the momentum going Saturday.
Sakai (14-1-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Blagoy Ivanov in the UFC on ESPN 9 co-main event and expects a win to propel him to the top 10 of the heavyweight rankings.
“He has a great name. He’s a great opponent, so I think a win over him puts me in the top 10,” Sakai told MMA Junkie during a virtual media day Thursday.
Not only will this be the first time Sakai competes on the main card in the UFC, he will be the co-headliner, which should bring a lot more eyes to his fight.
“It’s definitely more motivation,” Sakai said. “There’s always pressure when you’re fighting in the UFC, so being able to fight in a co-main event is just a lot more motivation.”
Sakai was initially scheduled to face Ivanov on the May 9 card which was initially set to take place in Sao Paulo before COVID-19 hit, but the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate will still get to compete in familiar territory at the UFC Apex.
“I think maybe I’m going to miss having the crowd, especially the crowd in Sao Paulo, where I was supposed to fight,” Sakai said. “They were all going to be probably rooting for me. But I came up on the Contender Series, so I’m used to this. It’s not something foreign to me.”
UFC on ESPN 9 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
