Going into his fight with Ulka Sasaki at UFC Japan, Brazilian flyweight contender Jussier Formiga had a lot of respect for Sasaki and his mixed martial arts skills. He wanted to devote all of his attention to Sasaki and not necessarily worry about fighting UFC champion Demetrious Johnson.
“Sasaki is versatile, strikes a little, but I feel that he’s more of a grappler than a striker. I don’t pick opponents, it doesn’t matter if I’m fighting a striker or a grappler, but I feel like it’s a bigger challenge for me to face a grappler.”
“I believe pretty much everyone already fought for the belt and I haven’t, but I decided to stop thinking about it for a while because it was affecting my performances,” Formiga said. “Every UFC fighter wants to fight for the belt and it’s not different with me, but I want to focus on this fight only. A big win for me over Sasaki will get me a lot of credit in the UFC.”
Formiga was simply happy to be fighting in Japan again as he reminisced about the first time he fought there earlier in his career.
“It was my first international fight, and I never had the chance to fight there again,” Formiga said via MMA News. “I became the No. 1 flyweight in the world in that fight. I took it on days’ notice. I only got in Japan four days before the fight, and it will be great to fight there again. I’m truly excited for this fight.”
Formiga showed him respect prior to the fight, but when the octagon door shut, earlier tonight, Formiga put on a brilliant performance and was able to submit the Japanese fighter in the first round. Once he was finally able to wrestle Sasaki to the ground, it didn’t take long for Formiga to sink in the rear naked choke and get the tap.
Jussier Formiga def. Ulka Sasaki via RNC in the 1st round.
And we're off!@JussierFormiga gets the 1st round sub at #UFCJapan!! pic.twitter.com/pWCixKdLZA
— UFC (@ufc) September 23, 2017
