Gökhan Saki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gökhan Saki |
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| Born | 18 October 1983 Schiedam, Netherlands |
| Other names | The Rebel |
| Nationality | Turkish Dutch |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 239 lb (108 kg; 17 st 1 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight Light heavyweight |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Style | Kickboxing, Muay Thai |
| Fighting out of | Kars, Turkey |
| Team | Mike's Gym (2012–present) Golden Glory (2001–2012) Pasztjerik (1993–2001) |
| Trainer | Mike Passenier Cor Hemmers Jan Pasztjerik |
| Years active | 2000–2015, 2021–present (Kickboxing) 2004, 2017–2018 (MMA) |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 99 |
| Wins | 82 |
| By knockout | 59 |
| Losses | 16 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 3 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 2 |
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last updated on: 13 August 2015
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Gökhan Saki, born on October 18, 1983, is a famous Turkish-Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He has won many titles, including Dutch, European, and World Muay Thai championships. Gökhan also became the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii champion and a former Glory Light Heavyweight Champion. He even competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is a big deal in MMA.
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Growing Up
Gökhan Saki was born and grew up in Schiedam, Netherlands. His parents were from Turkey, so he has both Dutch and Turkish citizenship. He started training in kickboxing when he was just 10 years old. At the same time, he also played football. But by age 16, he decided to focus only on kickboxing because he loved it more.
Kickboxing Journey
Gökhan's first coach was Jan Pasztjerik. With his help, Gökhan quickly became a Dutch, European, and World Muay Thai champion within three years. In 2003, he joined a team called Golden Glory. There, he trained with Cor Hemmers and became a very well-known fighter. He won against tough opponents like André Tete and Alexey Ignashov.
Big Tournaments
Gökhan first competed in K-1 in May 2006. He reached the finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Amsterdam but lost by knockout. The next year, he won fights using his strong low kicks. In 2008, he won the WFCA World Thaiboxing Super Heavyweight Championship. He also knocked out Paul Slowinski in a big fight.
Later in 2008, Gökhan won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii tournament. He knocked out all three of his opponents, which was amazing! This win earned him a spot in the K-1 World Grand Prix final. He beat Ray Sefo and Ruslan Karaev but lost to the champion, Remy Bonjasky, in the semi-finals.
Winning More Titles
In 2009, Gökhan defended his WFCA World Thaiboxing title. He also competed for the K-1 Heavyweight title but was the runner-up. He faced some tough losses that year, including against Peter Aerts.
In 2010, Gökhan bounced back with several wins. He beat Singh Jaideep and then Melvin Manhoef in an exciting match. He continued his winning streak by knocking out Freddy Kemayo and Nikolaj Falin. In the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final, he broke his hand but still managed to beat Daniel Ghiţă. However, he then lost to Alistair Overeem due to his injury.
After recovering, Gökhan won the United Glory World Series in 2011. He defeated Brice Guidon in the finals.
Glory Days
In 2012, Gökhan moved to Mike's Gym to train with Mike Passenier. He won against Mourad Bouzidi at Glory 2: Brussels. At the end of 2012, he competed in the Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam. He knocked out Anderson "Braddock" Silva but was stopped by the much larger champion, Semmy Schilt.
In 2013, Gökhan had a rematch with Daniel Ghiţă at Glory 6: Istanbul. He won by TKO after a tough fight. Later that year, he lost to Rico Verhoeven in a close match.
In 2014, Gökhan became the first-ever Glory Light Heavyweight Champion. He won the Glory 15: Istanbul – Light Heavyweight World Championship Tournament. In the final, he faced Tyrone Spong in a highly anticipated rematch. Gökhan checked a kick from Spong, which caused Spong's leg to break. Gökhan immediately showed great sportsmanship by helping Spong, which fans praised.
Return to the Ring
Gökhan Saki took a break from Glory due to inactivity. But in October 2021, he announced his return. He fought James McSweeney at Glory: Collision 3 and won by knockout in the second round.
Trying Mixed Martial Arts
Early in his career, Gökhan had one MMA fight in 2004, which he lost.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In 2017, Gökhan signed a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is the biggest MMA organization. He made his UFC debut on September 23, 2017, against Henrique da Silva. Gökhan won the fight by knockout in the first round, earning him a "Performance of the Night" bonus.
He was supposed to fight Khalil Rountree later that year but had to pull out due to a knee injury. The fight was rescheduled for July 2018, but Gökhan lost by TKO in the first round. He was scheduled for another fight in 2019 but withdrew due to another injury. In 2021, Gökhan asked the UFC to release him because of the many injuries he got from MMA training.
Life Outside the Ring
Gökhan Saki has dual Dutch and Turkish nationality. He has said that he really looks up to Ramon Dekkers, who was a famous Muay Thai fighter. He also considers Fedor Emelianenko his favorite fighter.
What He's Won
Kickboxing
- Glory
- 2014 Glory Light Heavyweight Championship (first ever champion)
- 2014 Glory Light Heavyweight World Championship Tournament Champion
- 2011 United Glory World Series heavyweight tournament champion
- K-1
- 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Final 3rd place
- 2009 K-1 Heavyweight (−100 kg) tournament runner up
- 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix Final 3rd place
- 2008 K-1 World GP in Hawaii champion
- 2006 K-1 World Grand Prix in Amsterdam runner up
- World Full Contact Association
- 2008 WFCA World Thaiboxing Super Heavyweight (+95 kg) title
- Awards
- 2014 Kickboxingplanet Kickboxer of the year
- Muay Thai
- 2003 World Muay Thai champion
- 2002 European Muay Thai champion
- 2001 Dutch Muay Thai champion
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) (for his fight against Henrique da Silva)
More to Explore
- List of K-1 events
- List of K-1 champions
- List of male kickboxers
