The best Italian MMA fighter and former UFC fighter Alessio “Legionarius“ Sakara this Thursday signed the three fight deal with the Croatian combat sports promotion Final Fight Championship.
On the occasion of the signing of the contract and Alessio’s visit to Zagreb, Croatia, FFC held a press conference which was opened by the FFC President Orsat Zovko.
“Alessio is one of the largest FFC reinforcements, possibly from the very beginning until today. All those who followed combat sports, MMA and especially the UFC, know that Alessio Sakara is one of Europe’s best fighters, the best Italian who fought in the UFC ever. I think he did 19 fights in the UFC. We still have a lot of plans with Alessio, not only regarding his matches, but we also talked about the possibility to bring FFC to Italy since some of the sponsors related to Alessio showed their interest in that idea. We have big plans with Alessio in the following two to three years but we will go one step at a time. By the end of the year he will certainly fight once or twice. We already scheduled one match and if it goes well and with no injuries we might schedule another one by the end of the year,“ said Zovko.
Alessio will definitely reinforce the already very strong FFC light heavyweight category, and he stated the following:
“I want to prove myself in the FFC. I changed the category and I will fight in the light heavyweight category. I feel stronger and I can do more than what I did in the lower category in the UFC. Croatia is close to Italy and many Italian fans can come and support me. This is why I like it. It’s also good it’s close because I can come and to the camp here where my Croatian fans can get to know me better. I like the FFC, there are soccer kicks and real striking. This is my new home where I will show my new style. “
Alessio’s manager Samuele Sanna also said a couple of words about him to the Croatian media.
“Alessio is one of the most famous European fighters. We’ve been in the UFC for eight years, but we ended our cooperation with them because they did not want Alessio to fight in the light heavyweight category. We wanted to change that and Alessio feels more free in this cooperation with Orsat whom we would like to thank and who gave us a chance to show real Alessio Sakara and his real style.”
Alessio likes FFC because of its similarity to legendary Pride and he described the organization and production as “perfect“.
“This is the best promotion in Europe. I don’t care who I am to fight. I like to fight. Maybe not right away in the first match, but I would like to fight a big European name in my second match. “
When asked whether he was familiar with the FFC roster, Alessio replied:
“Yes! I know Rico Rodriguez, I did sparring with Nandor Guelmino in Rome and Austria not so long ago. I know Paul Daley because I went to Mike Gym’s a couple of times. I know Eddie Sanchez. When it comes to Croatian fighters, I know Maro Perak. He fought at my event in 2009 in Rome. It was the best fight of the evening. And now we will maybe be in the same fight card. I know Croatia has a long tradition when it comes to combat sports. And of course, Cro Cop! He is a legend. First fighter in the world who was both K-1 and MMA champion. Everybody knows Cro Cop. Igor Pokrajac is also a friend of mine. We used to share the locker room in the UFC and talk in Italian. He speaks Italian well. Stipe Miocic as well… Croatia has many good fighters. “
Sakara is not afraid of the fact that he had a long break.
“It’s no problem. But now I have to train in the ring and not in the Octagon. I am a boxer, but I also have a black belt in jiu jitsu. I train wrestling in Rome now so maybe I change my style in the following match. If they knock me out, OK. But I will not leave the ring until I’m done. I never give up.“
Known for his numerous tattoos, Alessio joked about tattooing the FFC logo if the wins the title. The FFC President Orsat Zovko stressed out once again that he hoped Sakara will fight at FFC events twice by the end of the year and maybe even in the title match.