Takashi Sato will fight in the Apex Centre for the second time this Saturday (local time). The Japanese welterweight has been booked to face Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 15.
Sato spoke to the media earlier today and discussed the upcoming matchup. The 30 year old won his last fight at the Apex Centre but doesn’t think that has any special significance heading into the fourth bout of his UFC career,
“Actually I’m not thinking specifically about it because the first experience I never felt any stress so I’m trying to be relaxed this weekend.”
He also doesn’t think the smaller octagon will be an issue,
“I don’t really care if its a small cage as long as I can stick with my game plan and my style it should be fine.”
Rodriguez is also coming off a win in the Apex centre and is riding an eight fight winning streak. Sato says he knows exactly what his opponent brings to the table,
“He has the power to KO any opponent, he also can finish fights on the ground as well. He’s very aggressive so I understand his game plan and have to be prepared for this fight.”
Sato knows that winning fights alone is not enough to gain a large following outside of his homeland. He thinks this is the only way to increase his profile and popularity among UFC fans,
“I think definitely this one is going to be a very aggressive fight but I’m always looking for a knockout and I also can finish the fight on the ground so I’m looking to have an exciting fight and get more recognized by UFC fans.”
Sato has been preparing for this fight at Sanford MMA in Florida. It will be his second bout in the space of two months and the Japanese welterweight has found himself in the right place at the right time as the UFC is searching for US based fighters to fill its Las Vegas cards.
He stopped Jason Witt at UFC on ESPN 12 and this weekend Sato will be looking to score back to back octagon wins for the first time.
