Kickboxing star Gokhan Saki officially signs with the UFC

By Tom Taylor - May 25, 2017

Gokhan Saki is one of the best kickboxers in the world. His next fight, however, will not be in the kickboxing ring. It will be inside the UFC’s Octagon.

Saki’s jump to the UFC was first reported several weeks ago by Ryan Thomas of CagePages.com, and subsequently confirmed by MMA-Today.com. Now, the news has now been confirmed by both the UFC and Saki himself.

Though we now know that Saki has signed with the UFC, the specifics of his deal are not yet known. While we can surmise that he will compete in the UFC’s light heavyweight or heavyweight division – two divisions that are hurting for talent – the date, venue and opponent for his debut remain a mystery.

Saki has not competed in kickboxing since May of 2015 when he defeated Sebastian Ciobanu by decision. Prior to that he defeated another household name in Tyron Spong – albeit by via a rather unfortunate leg injury. His next most recent win occurred in 2014, when he TKO’d Nathan “Carnage” Corbett.

As Saki recently pointed out himself on Twitter, he is known for his violent speed and power. These weapons will likely make him a dangerous force in whatever division he chooses to compete in, though he will clearly need to have his grappling on point.

While Saki’s grappling deficit is likely to be targeted by many of his UFC foes, rumors have suggested he’s spent the years since his last kickboxing bout training exclusively for MMA.

How do you think this venomous striker will do in the UFC?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/24/2017.

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