Augusto Sakai parts ways with UFC a month after win over Don’Tale Mayes

Augusto Sakai is no longer under contract with the UFC.

The Brazilian heavyweight completed his deal this past February, earning a decision victory over Don’Tale Mayes at UFC Vegas 70, but the company decided not to re-sign the 31-year-old talent, MMA Fighting has confirmed with Sakai and UFC officials.

Twitter user UFC Roster Watch first reported Sakai’s removal from the UFC database on Thursday.

Sakai joined the UFC in 2018 after knocking out Marcos Conrado Jr. on Dana White’s Contender Series and won four in a row against Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski, Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov.

The Bellator veteran had his six-fight winning streak snapped by Alistair Overeem in a UFC main event in 2020, then dropped three in a row to Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Spivac before his final octagon appearance opposite Mayes. Despite snapping his losing skid and improving his pro record to 16-5-1, Sakai now finds himself on the free agent market.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.