One of the more interesting matchups of the upcoming Fight Night on the UFC schedule is the heavyweight clash between Augusto Sakai and Don’Tale Mayes. Both are considered veterans of the company now and are looking to crack into the top 15 rankings of a division that seems to be on fire as of late.
Read further for an in-depth betting preview and analysis of this upcoming heavyweight bout. You will also get an official Sakai vs Tale Mayes betting prediction after we take a look at what both fighters will bring into the octagon Saturday night.
Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes Odds
Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes Information
Augusto Sakai vs Don’Tale Mayes
Location: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Date and Time: February 25, 2023, 7:00 PM ET.
How to Watch: ESPN+
Last Fight Record
Sakai is on a losing skid, and he is coming off a second-round TKO loss to the dangerous Sergey Spivak last August.
Mayes’ last appearance in the octagon was ruled a no-contest. In the fight before that, Mayes was able to pick up a TKO victory over Josh Parisian in December of 2021.
Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes Betting Analysis
Augusto Sakai Facts to Know
Sakai is a very big and powerful Brazilian who now trains at American Top Team. He is currently 15-5-1 in professional MMA but has lost four fights in a row against a handful of some of the best heavyweights to step foot in the UFC in the last decade. It is worth mentioning the names, so the four losses have been to Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa, and Sergey Spivak.
The KO artist has an impressive 11 KOs in his career. In the UFC, he has averaged 4.74 significant strikes landed per minute. That is a pretty decent volume to land at, especially in the heavyweight division, where each significant strike has much more impact than other divisions.
The main analysis you need for this fight is that he hasn’t seen less than top 5 talent since 2020 and will get a chance to retry his journey to the top of the division by taking the proper steps.
Don’Tale Mayes Facts to Know
Mayes will be one of the few people that will be bigger than Sakai when they meet in the UFC this weekend. Mayes is a 6’6″, 81″ reach-having machine with so much physical potential that it has carried him to the biggest stage in martial arts.
This fighter out of Louisville has had an interesting professional career. Mayes lost on DWCS in the third round via TKO but then goes on to beat the future TUF champion Mohammed Usman in VFC. He then ends up going on DWCS two more times, scoring a TKO victory in both fights.
After getting a contract in the UFC, he gets unluckily selected to fight future interim title holder and multiple-time title challenger Cyril Gane in his debut.
Since the Gane loss, Mayes is 2-1 in the UFC and is looking to climb his way into the rankings to test himself against some of the best in the world.
Updates
No injury updates were provided to the NSAC.
Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes Betting Preview
Before narrowing down to a Sakai vs Tale Mayes betting prediction, we need to take a look at the betting lines for this heavyweight bout on Saturday night. UFC odds have Sakai as the -145 betting favorite over Mayes.
This moneyline proves how much skill Sakai has, even though he has lost his last four fights inside the octagon. Mayes is only a +115 underdog at most major sportsbooks, so this fight is very close on paper.
The under 2.5 rounds is set at a -160 line, meaning that oddsmakers are thinking this fight does not make it to the scorecards. That would make sense when you look at these two. Sakai is 6’3″ and will probably weigh in around 260. Mayes is 6’6″ and will probably need to cut weight to make the 265 lb limit.
The most interesting thing to look at for this matchup is if it will go to a decision or not. Both men obviously have the power to finish each other, but there are never any sure things in the UFC, and both fighters have more than +300 odds to win by decision this weekend.
Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes Betting Prediction
You can never make UFC predictions with 100% certainty. Mixed martial arts is a sport in that literally anything can happen, which is why you need to put in more effort to bet on the UFC, even more than the other sports.
After breaking down the Sakai vs Tale Mayes betting lines and breaking down the fight, the final prediction is going to be in favor of Augusto Sakai getting his hand raised. This guy is way too skilled and has too great of training partners around to not continue to get better. He has faced only killers so far, and this is his chance at someone that doesn’t have championship-level talent.
Mayes is going to be strong and dangerous at any moment in the octagon, but Sakai is too technical and crafty at the game of cage fighting for Mayes to pile up any significant damage. Sakai will have an answer for everything Mayes throws.
Sakai is going to be hurting Mayes throughout, and even though that decision method of victory is screaming my name, let’s go with the moneyline that has plenty of value still at -145 for the Brazilian.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.
