Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski outstruck Augusto Sakai on Saturday night, dictated the tempo and seemed the clear winner in their matchup.
To all but two of the judges, that is.
In a controversial decision, Sakai took a split at UFC on ESPN+ 8, getting the better end of two out of three 29-28 judges’ scores.
The heavyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of the UFC on ESPN+ 8 event at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., and aired on ESPN.
Arlovski (27-19 MMA, 17-13 UFC) set the tone in the opening round, as he was content to sit outside and throw looping right hands, some of which landed and some of which missed, but were enough to keep Sakai (13-1-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) respectful. Sakai landed a left early, and Arlovski slipped, but Sakai couldn’t follow up. Arlovski outstruck Sakai by a 2-to-1 margin in the round.
Sakai came out in the second and appeared determine to throw in higher volume, as he immediately landed a body kick and a solid uppercut. But the pace slowed from there, and Arlovski seemed to be just a bit faster on the draw. Arlovski also landed a bulls-eye of a low-blow kick in the round’s final minute, but Sakai was able to shake things off.
Sakai showed some urgency in the third round, the closest of the fight, landing knees and upping his output as Arlovski noticeably slowed. Sakai worked Arlovski in the clinch but never came close to finishing. Fortunately for Sakai, it turned out he didn’t have to.
The victory was just Sakai’s third to go the distance in his career, as he won his fourth consecutive bout. Arlovski has now lost three in a row (not including a no-contest), all via decision.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 8 results include:
- Augusto Sakai def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carla Esparza def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Gilbert Burns def. Mike Davis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:15
- Jim Miller def. Jason Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:12
- Angela Hill def. Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dhiego Lima def. Court McGee via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
