Thales Leites vs Alessio Sakara fight on tap for UFC 101

[Tony]

Thales Leites vs Alessio Sakara fight on tap for UFC 101

By: MMAmania

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) must want to see how far along the Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills of former Italian boxer-turned mixed martial artist, Alessio Sakara, have come since his submission loss to Dean Lister back in 2006.


That’s because ground specialist and former number one middleweight contender, Thales Leites, will fill-in for the injured black belt, Rousimar Palhares, at UFC 101 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 8, according to a report from Intheguard.tv.


“Toquinho” suffered a tibia fracture during training that required surgery and was forced out of competition, which opened up a slot for Leites. And he’ll more than likely attempt to make a lasting impression after his most recent lackluster performance against middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 97: “Redemption” last month.


Leites was able to do what no man has done up until this point — survive five rounds with “The Spider.” But that’s all he seemed there to do because there was very little offense for 25 minutes. In fact, he basically played keep-away once he realized that he would be unable to implement his slick jiu-jitsu skills.


The performance did not go over well with the public at large, as well as UFC executives, including company president Dana White, who admitted at the post-fight press conference that he was “embarrassed.” Leites had five wins in six attempts prior to the loss, three of which came via submissions. He’ll likely look to add to that total when he tangles with “Legionarious.”
Sakara is coming off a brutal knockout of Joe Vedepo via head kick at UFC Fight Night 15 back in September 2008. It was an eye-opening finish from the heavy-handed American Top Team product to say the least.
He was set to lock horns with Jake Rosholt at UFC Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7, 2009, until a late shoulder injury forced him off the card. He was then penciled in to clash with Alan Belcher at UFC 99 before “The Talent” was promoted to a showdown opposite big free agent acquisition, Yoshihiro Akiyama.


The former light heavyweight is currently (2-2) in his last four bouts and the same during his three-year career (4-4, 1 NC) with the UFC. Sakara — who historically struggles against higher-level competition — has been branded a gatekeeper of the division.


A big win on August 8 could go a long way in peeling off that label.
UFC 101 will likely feature a main event between lightweight champion BJ Penn and number one contender Kenny Florian, as well as UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, stepping up once again to compete at light heavyweight against former 205-pound champion, Forrest Griffin, in a three-round, non-title special attraction.


For more on UFC 101, including rumored bouts and all other event-related news, click here.

[bryan]

nou ik loop er niet warm voor eerlijk gezegd...

[Tony]

me neither.. deze zou Leites als ex title contender zo in zijn broekzak moeten hebben.