Shinjuku, Japan’s Takashi Sato knocks out Jason Witt at ‘UFC Vegas 4’

Takashi Sato (佐藤天), 30, of Shinjuku, Japan exhibited his knockout power at “UFC on ESPN 12,” also known as “UFC Vegas 4.” The Japanese mixed martial artist earned his second victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring 10 MMA matches, “UFC Vegas 4” took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on June 27, 2020. In the sixth bout of the evening, Sato fought Jason “The Vanilla Gorilla” Witt, 30, of Kansas City, Missouri, USA in the welterweight division.

Chris Tognoni served as the referee. He put a stop to the welterweight contest after 48 seconds in the first round when Sato knocked out Witt via ground and pound.

Winning at “UFC Vegas 4” improved Sato’s professional MMA record to 16 wins and 3 losses. It was his third outing in the UFC.

On the other hand, Witt now has 17 wins and 6 losses. Competing professionally since 2013, he made his UFC debut at “UFC Vegas 4.”

Witt replaced Sato’s original “UFC Vegas 4” opponent Ramiz Brahimaj, 27, of Texas, USA. The Texan MMA fighter was removed from the card because one of his cornermen tested positive for the new coronavirus (COVID-19) days before fight night.

 

Five countries were represented at “UFC Vegas 4” namely Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S. Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier, 31, of Coconut Creek, Florida, USA defeated Dan “The Hangman” Hooker, 30, of Auckland, New Zealand in the main event, which was named the Fight of the Night.

Kay Hansen, 20, of Fullerton, California, USA and Julian “Juicy J” Erosa, 30, of Yakima, Washington, USA won the Performances of the Night bonuses. She submitted Jinh Yu Frey, 35, of Arlington, Texas, USA while he submitted Sean “The Sniper” Woodson, 28, of Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

 

Born in Tokyo, Japan on June 9, 1990, Sato attended Senshu University in Chiyoda, Tokyo from 2009 to 2013. He made his professional MMA debut in 2013.

In 2019, Sato joined the UFC. When he made his promotional debut at “UFC on ESPN+ 8” at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, he knocked out Ben “Killa B” Saunders, 37, of Orlando, Florida.

Sato was coming out of a loss to Belal “Remember the Name” Muhammad, 31, of Chicago, Illinois, USA at “UFC 242” at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on September 7, 2019. Here is the Shinjuku native’s “UFC Vegas 4” post-fight interview: