Kickboxing career Gökhan Saki

1 kickboxing career

1.1 2006–2007
1.2 2008
1.3 2009
1.4 2010
1.5 2011
1.6 2012
1.7 2013 - present

kickboxing career

his initial trainer jan pasztjerik, under whom became dutch, european , world muay thai champion within 3 years, before moving golden glory gym in 2003. in 2006, returned pasztjerik embarked on joint production golden glory , pasztjerik. training @ golden glory cor hemmers, saki became well-known fighter took wins on andré tete, vitali akhramenko , henriques zowa, while facing well-established fighters such badr hari , nicholas pettas. despite success under hemmers, saki considers pasztjerik main influence helped him develop fighter become.

2006–2007

saki made k-1 debut @ k-1 world grand prix 2006 in amsterdam on may 13, 2006 defeated alexey ignashov in quarter-finals , rani berbachi in semis, before losing bjorn bregy first round knockout in tournament finals.

saki returned k-1 in march following year, taking on hiromi amada @ k-1 world grand prix 2007 in yokohama , winning via technical knockout using dutch-style low kicks. on june 23, 2007, defeated mourad bouzidi @ k-1 world grand prix 2007 in amsterdam unanimous decision.

he finished off year taking unanimous decision victory on russian muay thai fighter magomed magomedov @ k-1 fighting network turkey 2007 in istanbul on november 2.

2008

on february 16, 2008, saki won world full contact association (wfca) world thaiboxing super heavyweight (+95 kg) championship defeating englishman chris knowles via tko (left low kick) in hometown of schiedam. following this, next significant bout came in super fight @ k-1 world grand prix 2008 in amsterdam on april 26 knocked out paul slowinski left cross in first round.

saki facing ruslan karaev @ k-1 world gp 2008 final

following these impressive victories, invited take part in sixteen-man tournament @ k-1 world grand prix 2008 in hawaii on august 9. saki able win tournament in devastating fashion knocking out 3 of opponents, deutsch pu u, rick cheek , randy kim. victory earned saki place in 2008 k-1 world grand prix final sixteen, , marked first time turkish fighter had won k-1 grand prix.

later year @ k-1 world grand prix 2008 in seoul final 16 on september 27, drawn against legendary new zealander ray sefo. after 3 rounds, judges had scored fight decision draw went round determine winner, after saki announced victor unanimous decision. advancing final 8 @ k-1 world grand prix 2008 final on december 6, saki defeated ruslan karaev in quarter-finals before being knocked out eventual champion, remy bonjasky, in semis jumping kick rib cage.

2009

gökhan saki began 2009 defence of wfca world thaiboxing super heavyweight championship, finishing germany s arndt bunk body shot in round 1 on february 28.

a month later, took part in k-1 world grand prix 2009 in yokohama, eight-man tournament determine inaugural k-1 heavyweight (−100kg) champion. in semi-finals, fight tyrone spong went round able win via knockout. in final, faced keijiro maeda in bout went round. however, lost via majority decision time.

he returned against pavel zhuravlev on august 2 in super fight @ k-1 world grand prix 2009 in seoul. lost fight via unanimous decision , injured knee in fight, meant not participate in world grand prix last sixteen.

he still able take part in reserve fight @ k-1 world grand prix 2009 final, however, faced legendary dutchman peter aerts. defeated via unanimous decision, meaning had lost 3 fights in row.

2010

in 2010, saki able bounce taking 2 wins in january , february, including defence of wfca muay thai title against utley meriana, before rejoining k-1 circuit in april. took decision victory on singh jaideep @ k-1 world grand prix 2010 in yokohama before taking on melvin manhoef in highly anticipated bout @ s showtime 2010 amsterdam on may 29. saki won via tko in second round after referee stopped fight due manhoef being knocked down 3 times.

having made full recovery injuries , poor form, saki invited k-1 world grand prix 2010 in seoul final 16 on october 2 knocked out frenchman freddy kemayo in first round.

following this, entered united glory 2010/11 world series @ united glory 12 fourteen days later ko d russian nikolaj falin in amsterdam, netherlands.

saki returned japan k-1 world grand prix 2010 final on december 11. faced daniel ghiţă in quarter-finals , won unanimous decision after 4 rounds. however, broke right hand during fight , went on battle golden glory teammate alistair overeem in semis. using left hand , kicks, managed outpoint larger opponent; knocking overeem down spin kick not counted, although alistair landed heavy left kick saki s right elbow broken in quarter-final fight. fight stopped in first round saki not continue gained huge respect heart , courage.

2011

after recuperating injuries sustained in k-1 grand prix, saki returned united glory world series in march 2011 took decision victory on wendell roche in semis @ united glory 13.

he went on win world series @ united glory 14: 2010–2011 world series finals on may 28 in moscow, russia defeated brice guidon decision.

2012

on january 28, 2012, saki faced badr hari @ s showtime 2012 in leeuwarden in hari s last kickboxing match before moving boxing. hari defeated saki ease, scoring 3 knockdowns in first round before referee stopped fight, earning him tko victory. dropped him right uppercut first, second knockdown came right hook. finally, landed right uppercut again dropped saki third time.

when saki s trainer, cor hemmers, took position working in glory promotion , unable spend time in gym before, saki moved mike s gym train under mike passenier.

he faced mourad bouzidi @ glory 2: brussels on october 6, 2012 in brussels, belgium , won unanimous decision.

saki ended year competing in sixteen-man 2012 glory heavyweight grand slam @ glory 4: tokyo - 2012 heavyweight grand slam in saitama, japan on december 31, 2012. saki defeated raoumaru ease @ opening stage, flooring out-matched korean twice in round 1 , forcing referee stop bout. then, in quarter-finals, knocked out anderson braddock silva patented left hook in closing seconds of round one. advancing semis, saki eliminated eventual tournament winner, semmy schilt. dwarfed eleven inches , outweighed twenty 7 kilograms, saki s high work rate not enough outpoint schilt , lost on points after judges awarded giant dutchman first 2 rounds.

2013 - present

saki rematched daniel ghiţă @ glory 6: istanbul in istanbul, turkey on april 6, 2013 in #1 contender s bout glory heavyweight championship held semmy schilt. fight started out little rough, saki caught kick romanian. backed ghiţă , threw him mat sweep. ghiţă landed hard, looking have suffered arm injury. according glory s official rules, leg sweeps , trips illegal moves , should thusly counted such. instead, referee joop ubeda counted down ghiţă took while feet. though injured, round 2 saw again ghiţă being more consistent midway through round, turk began landing heavy punches on him , did not let up, dropping durable romanian 3 times take win via tko after referee stepped in, calling fight.

in semi-finals of glory 11: chicago - heavyweight world championship tournament in hoffman estates, illinois, united states in october 2013, saki gave lackluster performance , on receiving end of controversial knockdown in round 1 lost majority decision eventual tournament champion rico verhoeven. on november 2, 2013, saki released statement declaring looking taking legal action against glory on decision.

saki crowned inaugural glory light heavyweight champion when won glory 15: istanbul - light heavyweight world championship tournament in istanbul, turkey on april 12, 2014. faced nathan corbett in semi-finals , beginning punish australian s body when blood began leak corbett s right ear after overhand left organ, leading ringside physician advise referee al wichgers halt fight @ 2:35 mark of round one. faced tyrone spong in highly anticipated rematch in final. midway through opening round, spong threw kick saki s left leg. saki checked kick, causing spong s lower right leg fracture , end fight via tko. saki s sportsmanship of tending spong praised fans.

saki stripped of glory light heavyweight title due inactivity in glory on july 27, 2015.