Alessio Sakara Hopes to Eventually Fight Rampage Jackson | MMAWeekly.com

In the three years since his UFC release, light-heavyweight veteran Alessio Sakara has managed to get his career back on track with back to back wins, coming off of four straight losses and a no contest.

Sakara believes it’s been his move up to light-heavyweight after years at middleweight which has provided the biggest boost to his comeback.

“My style is same but the difference is my mind,” Sakara told MMAWeekly.com. “At 205-pounds I stay more comfortable and my body is reactive. When I fight at 185-pounds I have to much stress to fight at 100-percent.”

After spending eight years in the UFC, Sakara is happy to get an opportunity to start over in a new company now after signing with Bellator this year.

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“I love this company,” said Sakara. “They treat us like athletes and not numbers. For me it’s like it’s another beginning and I have to do well.”

Sakara (17-11) returns to his home country of Italy for his second Bellator fight, facing fellow vet Joey Beltran (17-13) in a main card light-heavyweight bout on Saturday in Florence.

“I know I can win and I’m going to prove it,” Sakara said of facing Beltran. “I like to fight with the striker.”

Looking ahead to 2017, Sakara wants to branch out to other forms of fighting, and would like to face a fellow UFC fighter should the opportunity arise.

“I want to win fighting with top names in my division, and maybe fight in Bellator Kickboxing,” said Sakara. “My dream is to fight Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, because I like his style of fighting.”

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