UFC Fight Night results, highlights: Alistair Overeem rallies to stop Augusto Sakai in final round

Overeem used his superior ground-and-pound attack to pick up the victory on Saturday night in Las Vegas

Relying on nothing more than experience and grit, Alistair Overeem kept his self-proclaimed last run at an elusive UFC heavyweight title intact on Saturday by rallying to stop Augusto Sakai in Round 5. 

The victory was a sweet one for Overeem (47-18, 1 NC), who was competing for the 66th time as a pro. The 40-year-old overcame a bad cut on his forehead and made a key adjustment late to use his wrestling by finishing Sakai (15-2-1) with a vicious series of elbows at 26 seconds of the final round. 

"Augusto is a tough guy and up-and-coming," Overeem said. "We kind of knew he would take the punishment, but we were well prepared and did it again at age 40."

A Pride veteran and former champion under the Strikeforce and DREAM banners, Overeem said before the fight he's no more than two wins away from a second shot at a UFC title. Overeem nearly stopped current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in 2016 before getting finished late in Round 1. 

The victory saw Overeem improve to 4-1 since 2018, with his only loss coming via fifth-round knockout to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a fight Overeem was winning.

"I love fighting," Overeem said. "It has been my passion for 23 years." 

Sakai, a 29-year-old native of Brazil, saw his six-fight win streak snapped in a fight he controlled early by outworking Overeem. But the veteran took his time and saved energy knowing Sakai had never fought past the third round as a pro. 

"We knew he could take a shot and you could see that in his earlier fights, so we didn't want to do too much [early] not to gas ourself," Overeem said. 

The tide began to turn late in Round 3 when Overeem scored a takedown and likely stole the round by cutting Sakai above his left eye with hammer punches. A big elbow from Sakai early in Round 4 badly cut Overeem on his hairline, but Overeem took his opponent down late for the second straight round and left his face a bloody mess with a flurry of elbows before the horn. 

The final round opened up with yet another takedown and even more elbows from Overeem until referee Herb Dean jumped in.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:42 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 5: Another takedown from Overeem. Three massive elbows and that will do it! Overeem finishes Sakai!

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:40 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Sakai gave up his back briefly but Overeem takes back over top position. Hard elbows. This is a gutsy effort from Overeem to rally for the second straight round. Three more elbows land.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:39 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Overeem is landing punches as he busts Sakai open again. Huge elbow has Sakai hurt!

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:38 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Big takedown against for Overeem. He scores with punches from top position.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:38 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Overeem now bleeding profusely from a cut on his hairline due to the Sakai elbow.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:37 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Spinning back kick from Overeem catches Sakai low to cause a break.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:36 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 4: Good flurry to the body from Sakai. Overeem is simply not busy enough despite the strong end to the previous round. Big elbow from Sakai against the cage.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:34 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Sakai gets busted open late and that should be enough for Overeem to steal the round.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:33 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Overeem eats some hammer fists before answering with two massive ones of his own from the top.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:32 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Overeem scores some much-needed punches from top position.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:32 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Late takedown for Overeem. This could be big.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:32 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Leg kicks are starting to add up for Sakai as Overeem eats a calf strike and nearly falls.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:31 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Overeem remains calm knowing Sakai has yet to go past the third round as a pro but he's getting outworked.

[Sep 5, 2020 at 10:30 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Big flurry for Sakai has Overeem covering up against the cage wall.