The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention t the most talented fighter on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.
Takashi Sato
Affiliation – Tribe Tokyo MMA
From – Tokyo, Japan
Height – 5’11”
Weight – 170 lbs (Welterweight)
Record – 14-2 (0-0 UFC)
What makes him impressive
The most dangerous part of Sato’s game, and clearly what got him to the UFC, is his ability to knock out his opponents in just about any way. In his last five victories, he has wins by four different types of KOs (ground and pound, punch, knee, and elbow).
However, unlike a lot of freshly signed KO artists, Sato is strong on the ground as well. He has power to hold opponents down and avoids submissions while doing so. This control of position helps make it such that his opponents need to be able to threaten him with their own control in order to bring home a victory.
Why he has been overlooked
Pancrase is not exactly an organization that gets a lot of play in the US. While older than many of the Asian organizations such as One FC or Rizin, its distribution to US fans is far worse, as is the media coverage. Add in that it airs in the wee hours of the morning stateside and you can see why perhaps many would not have caught a Takashi Sato fight.
What makes this a good match-up
As mentioned above, Sato is excellent at protecting himself in a fighter’s guard, which is exactly where Ben Saunders likes to attack from. His rubber guard game will likely not be good enough to threaten Sato, which means he’ll either lose a decision or will have to win it on the feet.
On the feet, Saunders likes to make his hay in the clinch. With a knee and elbow KO in recent history, that may not be the best place to trade with Sato. Plus, with Saunders being on the wrong end of a brutal KO last time out, his chin is certainly something to question.
Prelim Breakout Star Record: 170-72-1 (2 NC) (6 DNF)
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