Overeem, Sakai on collision course

UFC Fight Night 176 will see a collision between two of the series’ most explosive heavyweights, as Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai headline the event at the APEX facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday, 6 September.

Overeem (46-18-0, 1NC) comes into the match on the back of a second-round TKO win over Walt Harris back in May. The 40-year-old veteran readily admits that he is in the twilight of his MMA career, but that has not dimmed his hunger to have a run at the UFC heavyweight title, currently held by Stipe Miocic (the man who beat Overeem in his last title fight back in September 2016).

"I am very satisfied being very dedicated all my career. That really gives me all the confidence. The UFC title would be the crown on that career, but I don’t know. My career has so many beautiful moments. Even the last victory was a beautiful moment," said ‘The Demolition Man’, who fights out of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

"I mean, for Walt, it was a little bit less nice. Even for him, I think it was – he got back in the Octagon, he had a good performance, he got very close to victory and, yeah, I don’t know, just keep fighting.

"I love fighting, I love training, I love preparing for fights. I guess I’m good at it after doing it for 27 years so, yeah, just keep doing what I’m doing."

Sakai (15-1-1), meanwhile, is an up-and-coming prospect in the division who has yet to taste defeat in the UFC since his first fight with the promotion back in 2018.

His last outing brought a narrow, split-decision win over Blagoy Ivanov in May but the Brazilian is confident that he can step up to the challenge posed by Overeem.

"He has a great career in kickboxing and of course, I respect his history a lot, but we will fight under MMA rules and I’m ready to bring some surprises," Sakai said.

"Overeem changed a lot of his style lately," he added. "He is not aggressive like in old times. [He] is looking more for takedowns, like he did with [Jairzinho] Rozenstruik and avoiding strong striking exchanges.

"I’m coming from a three-round fight in that Octagon against Blagoy Ivanov, so I feel I'm pretty much adapted to that size. Overeem won't have a place to run. I'm self-confident I'll get a knock out."

UFC Fight Night 176 – Main card

Main event: Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem v Augusto Sakai
Co-main: Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield v Ovince Saint Preux
Women’s bantamweight: Karol Rosa v Sijara Eubanks
Welterweight: Michel Pereira v Zelim Imadaev
Lightweight: Jalin Turner v Thiago Moises