Sakai vs Mayes

Who won Sakai vs Mayes?

Augusto Sakai beat Don Tale Mayes by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of UFC Fight Night – Krylov vs Spann, on Saturday 25th February 2023 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced as 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in favor of the winner Augusto Sakai.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Sakai vs Mayes stats

Augusto Sakai stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Don Tale Mayes made his way to the cage with a record of 9 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Augusto Sakai's 9th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Don Tale Mayes marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2019.

Augusto Sakai's UFC record stood at 5-4-0, while Don Tale Mayes' came in at 4-6-0.

The stats suggested Sakai had an advantage in power over Mayes, with a 73% knock out percentage over Mayes' 56%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Mayes had an advantage over Sakai, with a 11% submission rate over Sakai's 0%.

Augusto Sakai was the same age as Don Tale Mayes, at 33 years old.

Mayes had a height advantage of 3 inches over Sakai. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Sakai was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 7 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 4 years and 3 months earlier than Mayes, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 3 more professional rounds, 54 to Mayes' 51.

Sakai vs Mayes form

Augusto Sakai had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Sergey Spivac at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on 6th August 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Tai Tuivasa at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Vegas 28 on 5th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round.

Before that, he had lost to Alistair Overeem at UFC Vegas 9 on 5th September 2020 by knockout in the 5th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had won against Blagoy Ivanov at UFC Vegas 1 on 30th May 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Mayes had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had been beaten by Shamil Gaziev at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov on 3rd August 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had beaten Caio Machado at UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez on 27th April 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC Fight Night – Almeida vs. Lewis on 4th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Before that, he had defeated Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night – Kara-France vs. Albazi on 3rd June 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

He had lost to Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night – Krylov vs Spann on 25th February 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Don Tale Mayes had been fighting more than Augusto Sakai.

Going to this contest, Augusto Sakai had last fought 2 years, 7 months and 24 days ago, while Don Tale Mayes' last outing had been 7 months and 27 days ago.

Sakai's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 10 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Mayes' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Sakai vs Mayes?

Augusto Sakai was a 4/5 (-130) favourite going into the contest, while Don Tale Mayes made his way into the ring at 1/1 (+100) with oddsmakers.