Fight Odds
Tai Tuivasa pickem vs Augusto Sakai
Fight is at heavyweight and is -250 to end inside the distance.
Much like Pedro Munhoz, Tai Tuivasa is a fighter that comes in and does not hesitate to blast the lead leg of his opponents. Unlike say Jose Aldo, Tuivasa can be trusted with this approach in every single fight. He is probably not the tighter and more technical striker in this matchup, but he certainly does not need to be. Tuivasa will have a big power edge against Augusto Sakai, and that will ultimately be the difference in the fight. We have seen Tuivasa struggle against grapplers eager to take him down in the past, but that is certainly not the M.O. of Sakai. In seven fights, Sakai has landed just one of two takedowns attempted in the UFC. This will let Tuivasa earn his fourth straight KO win.
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Sakai is a very solid heavyweight with a decent skill set, but we have seen the struggles once he faces tougher competition. After starting his UFC tenure with five straight wins, he has lost via finish in each of his last two fights. We saw a tentative version of him in his last fight against Jair Rozenstruick. When Rozenstruick is winning the volume battle, something is not right. I expect more hesitancy from Sakai in this one, and Tuivasa is not a fighter that will wait around to capitalize.
What To Bet
Sakai is learning the cost of not neutralizing the power of his opponents, and that will be an ongoing lesson on Saturday. I fully expect a KO from Tuivasa, but the difference between the -110 flat line to the +120 ITD line is so minimal, we will just play him flat.
Betting Pick: Tuivasa -110
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Tai Tuivasa vs Augusto Sakai Prediction