The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 158: Cowboy vs. Gaethje

#3 Best: Sakai picks up his biggest win yet

Augusto Sakai looked excellent in his knockout of Marcin Tybura

I could’ve talked about the fun fights between Glover Teixeira and Nikita Krylov and Uriah Hall and Antonio Carlos Junior here, but for me the final prelim of the night between Augusto Sakai and Marcin Tybura was far more memorable. Heavyweight is a weird, ageing division where the likes of Aleksei Oleinik can still succeed, so any time a young talent works his way upward is interesting – and Sakai looked excellent last night.

It is true that Tybura was coming off a disappointing loss to Shamil Abdurakhimov in his last fight, but he’s still been one of the more reliable big men in the UFC over the last couple of years – he took Fabricio Werdum to a five round decision, for instance. So to see Sakai turn his lights out with some huge punches in under a minute was massively impressive.

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Sakai – who’s still young for a Heavyweight at 28 – promised to put on a better showing than his dull fight with Andrei Arlovski in April, and he duly managed it here. At 14-1-1 he could be a man to watch in this division going forward – particularly if he can uncork some more excellent knockouts like his one last night.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Raunak J