Alistair Overeem bludgeons Augusto Sakai with ground and pound to secure TKO win
Alistair Overeem may be four decades into his life as a mixed martial artist, but he is not showing any signs of slowing with the 42nd stoppage victory of his storied career.
Augusto Sakai looked to have the edge on Overeem in the early stages of this fight which entered championship rounds.
The Brazilian’s ruthless and dangerous blitzes of punches, knees and elbows in close quarters seemed to disrupt Overeem in establishing any rhythm on the feet.
To counter this, Overeem sought to get the fight on the ground instead and that was where he found his route to victory.
Overeem scored takedowns in round three and four where he dished out plenty of punishment as well as displaying some impressive ground control.
The Dutch striker took Sakai down again early in the fifth round and that signalled the end for Sakai. Taking elbows and punches from Overeem on top, Sakai was deemed unable to effectively defend himself as referee Herb Dean stepped in to call a stop to this heavyweight contest.
This saw Overeem hand Sakai his first loss in three years, snapping a six fight winning streak.
Ovince St. Preux knocks out Alonzo Menifield in the second round
Ovince St. Preux is back at light heavyweight and looking as sharp as ever as he knocked out Alonzo Menifield in spectacular style.
Apart from a late burst of punches from Menifield in the opening round, St. Preux looked in total control as he utilised his natural advantages in height and reach.
His patient, kick-heavy approach at range wore on Menifield as “OSP” landed a number of kicks to the legs and body which drained his opponent’s gas tank.
Appearing beaten and fatigued, Menifield tried to make things happen late in the second round only to walk into a stunning left hook which rendered him unconscious at the feet of St. Preux.
St. Preux’s brief stint at heavyweight may have been ultimately unsuccessful, but it could well have given the former UFC interim light heavyweight title challenger a new lease of life at 205 pounds.
UFC Fight Night 176: Overeem vs. Sakai full results
Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem def. Augusto Sakai by TKO (elbows and punches) at 0:26 of round five
Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux def. Alonzo Menifield by KO (punch) at 4:07 of round two
Welterweight: Michel Pereira def. Zelim Imadaev by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:39 of round three
Middleweight: André Muniz def. Bartosz Fabiński by aubmission (armbar) at 2:42 of round one
Featherweight: Brian Kelleher def. Ray Rodriguez by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:39 of round one
Women’s Flyweight: Viviane Araújo def. Montana De La Rosa Decision by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Hunter Azure def. Cole Smith by unanimous decision after three rounds