Gokhan Saki: The fearless fighter out to inspire UAE youth

Adrian Back 12:49 25/02/2014
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  • A fighter with heart: Gokhan Saki has always refused to quit, even when fighting with a broken arm.

    When thinking of legendary fighters there is normally one attribute that allows them to conquer all. For Muhammad Ali it was his blistering speed with hand and feet. When it comes to Georges Saint-Pierre it is his flawless technique. For kickboxer Gokhan Saki, that one attribute is heart.

    His fearless nature and courage have been on display throughout his near 100-fight professional career, but perhaps none more so than when he fought fellow Dutchman Alistair Overeem at the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2010.

    Saki had already come through a brutal contest against Daniel Ghiţă and was due to face Overeem – a 6ft 5”, 120kg powerhouse – just 40 minutes later. However, time was not an issue, it was the fact that he had suffered a broken right arm and shattered a number of bones in his right hand.

    Having hidden just how serious his injuries were from the tournament doctors, Saki demonstrated tremendous heart and sheer resilience as he battled with just one arm. Like any good fighter, Overeem would target the injury as he repeatedly landed heavy kicks before the referee eventually stepped in and stopped the contest.

    Enduring unbelievable pain and punishment, Saki may have lost the contest but he won an army of loyal fans.

    That memorable fight may have taken place more than three years ago, but the battle scars from the night are still evident. Yet Saki remembers the event with great fondness.

    “It was a good decision,” he recalls with a broad smile. “Alistair was the champion on the night but I was the champion of the people because I had the heart and courage to fight with one hand.

    “The easiest thing I could have done was to give up. But we are born fighters and you train all day for that one moment, which is in your grasp, so I could not quit. Every fighter has one of two fights in which they give up and they don’t sleep for a couple of months. I had two situations like this and I refused to let it happen again.

    “I asked myself, ‘do you want that feeling again?’. I said ‘hell no, I want to sleep good’.”

    The fight will also live long in the memory thanks to events away from the ring on the very same night. Saki’s close friend had been battling cancer in hospital for a number of months and had told the fighter that he did not feel he could go on.

    “My walk-out t-shirt that night was for my friend. I told him to battle one more day and watch my fight. He did and then he passed away,” reveals Saki, whose voice almost breaks at the memory.

    “That second fight was for him. He was in a hospital fighting cancer for months, and all I had was a broken arm. That was powerful for me.”

    In the years since that night in Japan, kickboxing has grown in popularity across the globe. While it was already a major draw in Europe and Asia, America has finally accepted the sport as they crave the stunning knockouts that are so often lacking in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

    Now fighting in the ever-expanding Glory organisation, Saki has become one of the most recogniseable faces in kickboxing.

    He is currently ranked as the number three heavyweight in the world but has made the decision to drop down to below 95kg in order to compete for the light heavyweight crown.

    Having spent the last ten years of his professional career fighting opponents significantly taller and heavier, he will finally be on a level playing field.

    Previously he admits that he approached each fight with caution as he could not afford to stand and trade, but now his natural speed and power will allow him to adapt his fighting style.

    But what motivated Saki to share a ring with significantly bigger opponents in such a brutal sport?

    “For me it was always a challenge to fight big guys,” he responds. “Even when I was 19 and I only weighed 90kg I took the risk to fight at heavyweight. I won 21 fights in a row; it gave me a good feeling to knock big people out.”

    Now the approach will change as Saki prepares to face the vastly experienced Kiwi Nathan Corbett in the semi-finals of a tournament designed to crown an inaugural Glory Light Heavyweight champion.

    “When fighting bigger guys you have to be smart. It’s like chess,” explains the fighter nicknamed The Rebel. “I couldn’t go to war with someone who weighed 120kg. But now I don’t feel I need to prove myself anymore so it will be more about spectacular action.”

    In preparation for a night that could define his career, Saki made the decision to move to Dubai. No stranger to basing his training camps away from his home in Holland, it was however a major decision to move to the emirate where fight sports are still in their infancy.

    Yet he instantly feels at home. Training twice a day, six times a week, Saki can now be found working on all aspects of his fight game at EMD Fitness – a brand new gym owned by the UAE’s only professional boxer Eisa Al Dah.

    He has become quickly engrossed with his new surroundings and hopes to one day fight professionally in the UAE. Saki is also keen to train the next generation of hungry young kickboxers and will soon be holding classes and delivering one-on-one lessons.

    “I am really interested in promoting kickboxing and I am hoping to bring a lot of good fighters over to train. We have managed to crack American because of our exciting all-action style and I think it could be a good opportunity for young fighters here in the UAE.

    “There are a lot of hungry people who want to train and fight but they haven’t got the facilities, so we are going to bring them here,” enthused Saki.

    But training fighters full-time is still some way off as Saki believes that he still has another “two or three years at the top” before he walks away from the sport that has brought him so much. For now his focus is on April 12 when he fights in Turkey for the light heavyweight title.

    With Turkish heritage he is sure to have feverish support in Istanbul that will create a hostile atmosphere for his opponents. And now that he is fighting at his natural weight it seems the odds are stacked in his favour. But there is no room for overconfidence in the ring. One punch or kick can not only end a contest, but result in serious injury.

    Yet entering the ring holds no fear for Saki. He is a born fighter. And whatever happens in Istanbul you can be sure of one thing, he simply will not quit.

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