When he was 11, Sakara began boxing and soccer. He moved to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 18. He was a soccer star in his youth but he played a common position and was overlooked for the prestigious Lazio team.
Sakara turned to boxing but once he discovered MMA and jiu-jitsu through instructor Roberto Almeida Meneguetti, he knew it was for him. He made his MMA debut in 2002 against Adam Woolner at a Cage Warriors Fighting Championship show in England. Alessio went 2-2 that year, including a decision loss to Roman Zentsov (Pictures) in the M-1.
In 2003 “Legionarius,” an alias Sakara took to honor his ancestors who were said to be Roman legionnaires, fought in Brazil for the first time. Sakara stopped Rafael Tatu in a bout at the Meca Vale Tudo show and fought his next three fights there.
A match at Jungle Fight 3 provided him with his biggest test against former Chute Boxe fighter and current UFC fighter Assuerio Silva (Pictures). The bout went the distance and Sakara lost by decision, but he proved to himself he could fight a top-level opponent in MMA.
With another win back home in Italy, Sakara prepared to make his Octagon debut. At UFC 55 he faced Ron Faircloth (Pictures). “Legionarius” fought hard for the first round but didn’t finish Faircloth. An unintentional knee to the groin put an end to Sakara’s evening and an empty feeling about his debut. He roared back at UFC 57 and bloodied up veteran fighter Elvis Sinosic (Pictures) en route to a decision victory.
LISTER: Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Dean Lister (Pictures) is a four-time Machado National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion, a two-time National Sambo champion and the former KOTC middleweight champion. “The Machine” (also known as “The Boogey Man”), wrestled in high school and began training in jiu-jitsu under Fabio Santos.
He is an Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships veteran and Absolute Division Champion (beating Nathan Marquardt (Pictures), Saulo Ribeiro, Márcio Cruz and Alexandre Ferreira among others). Dean is currently a BJJ brown belt training under the guidance of Royce Gracie (Pictures) at Team Gracie United and trains at City Boxing with Robert “The Hitman” Garcia (boxing) Janex (kickboxing), Brent Stuchlik (conditioning) and Mike Regner from Fairtex Muay Thai.
As for his fight game, Lister likes leg locks (say that five times fast) and foot locks from his Sambo training, in addition to the standard BJJ armbars and triangles. He carries a record of 7-4 in MMA.
Dean would’ve made his Japanese debut on the Pancrase: Spirit Tour in September of ’02 but his opponent Daisuke Ishi had to pull out at the last minute. An eight-time King of the Cage veteran, Lister faced Jacen Flynn, Brendan Seguin (Pictures) and James Lee before losing to Miletich Martial Arts fighter Jeremy Horn (Pictures) at KOTC 31.
Dean fought for Horn’s KOTC light heavyweight championship title with the four-round bout going the distance. Dean suffered a large cut early in the fight that poured blood throughout the bout. Though it was a factor for Lister, Horn defended his title admirably and remained champion.
Dean has reportedly signed a six-fight deal with the PFC and made his debut at PRIDE Bushido 4 against Amar Suloev (Pictures). He lost a decision to the Red Devil but scored a quick submission over longtime PRIDE veteran Akira Shoji (Pictures) in a four-man tournament.
Since the other bracket winner, Paulo Filho (Pictures), could not continue, Lister “won” the tournament and advanced to the Middleweight GP with just one victory. His most recent bout was a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Arona (Pictures) at the Pride Total Elimination 2005 show.
MY PICK: Sakara. I know this is likely an upset to some. Forgetting that this is Lister’s UFC debut, he has an extensive pedigree as a grappler, spent significant time in the KOTC cage and is a PRIDE veteran. He is by no means green, however, “Legionarius” strikes me as a pretty tough assignment for your first trip in the Octagon. If it goes to the mat and stays on the mat, Lister will likely control him and we’ll have a three-round bore. But if Sakara can keep it on the feet, Dean is in trouble. As mentioned in his bio, Sakara also pals around with the Nogueira brothers. Given that relationship and the fact he trains under a BJJ black belt he likely knows a thing or two about the ground. Sakara by TKO in the second round.