Pros react to Gokhan Saki’s impressive UFC debut

Tom Taylor - June 23, 2020

Kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki, a member of the UFC light heavyweight division, has provided an update for his fans after close to two years away from competition.

J Kindschy - April 25, 2019

Perseverance is undoubtedly a key component to success and arguably the most important. No matter your walk of life or your profession, we all must overcome the odds in some capacity. In seldom few professions is this fact more prevalent than combat sports. Grueling training, weight cutting, competing at the highest level, the painful sting of a loss, and of course injuries. The journey for combat athletes is typically a long and arduous road, which is why, statistically speaking, such a minority of these warriors reach the pinnacle. However, in several cases we have been fortunate enough to witness greatness manifest itself, and in the world of kickboxing, Gokhan Saki epitomizes the moxie of such greatness.

Tom Taylor - September 20, 2018

Back in July, on the main card of UFC 226, kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki stepped into the UFC’s Octagon to do battle with rising light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree. Heading into this fight, the widespread expectation was that Saki would have a significant edge in the striking department. Unfortunately for Saki and his legions of fans, however, this fight did not go the way he planned. Instead, he was put down by a thunderous Rountree punch in the bout’s first round. While this outcome was undeniably disappointing for Gokhan Saki, he showed incredible sportsmanship after the fact, congratulating his opponent on the upset victory. That being said, Saki feels the outcome of this fight can be attributed more to his own errors than Rountree’s technique.

Tom Taylor - September 20, 2018

Having healed up from a tough, July loss to Khalil Rountree, kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki is now looking forward to his next challenge in the UFC’s Octagon. And while the Turkish knockout artist matches up beautifully with a great many of his peers in the UFC light heavyweight division, he’s recently been linked to a potential heavyweight showdown with fellow striking specialist Mark Hunt. Speaking to BJPENN.COM’s Jason Kindschy this week, Gokhan Saki explained how this potential matchup with Mark Hunt came about.