The Ultimate Fighting Championships have signed retired kickboxer Gokhan Saki to a multiple fight deal.
Saki has been a professional kickboxer for over seventeen years, having previously won the Glory Light Heavyweight Title, K-1 World Grand Prix Hawaii Championship (2008), Glory Light Heavyweight Tournament winner (2014) and a United Glory Heavyweight Tournament winner (2010 & 2011). Saki leaves the sport of kickboxing with a record of 83-12-0.
The kickboxing great posted the following video on his Facebook page to announce his signing with the UFC:
Gokhan currently holds an 0-1-0 record as a professional MMA fighter and he hasn’t competed in MMA for well over a decade.
During his time as a kickboxer, the fighter defeated top competitors live Tyrone Spong, Melvin Manhoef and Ray Sefo.
Following his departure from Glory and subsequent retirement, the fighter posted the following statement to explain his career choices:
I DID LEAVE GLORY KICKBOXING
I stopped my contract at Glory Kickboxing and have signed my Retirement Contract.
I’m STOPPING with GLORY. For my fans hereby the explanation the facts about Glory and Rico Verhoeven.
3 May 2017
I left Glory Kickboxing on 3 May. All the owners/co-owners etc of Glory have discussed this and they signed my Retirement Contract and I received it back on 3 MAY.
After 5 months being kept on a line, for me it was done, i had a lot of other deals but i kept waiting to fight Rico or for Glory. The waiting is over, tired of it. Glory Kickboxing is playing politics to keep their ‘champion’ Rico Verhoeven safe for his renewal contract that had to take place end May or begin June. If he would lose against me, his position towards Glory would have been weakened. Rico Verhoeven and his team and also Glory did not want to expose their Champ to such risks.
Saturday 20 May
Cor Hemmers from Glory announced in an interview on 20 May that i have a retirement contract from Glory and i stopped fighting for Glory.
Saturday 20 May Night (Rico Fight)
Rico Verhoeven was bragging in TV-Shows after the Badr fight in GERMANY, that he doesn’t need famous opponents, he sells out tickets on his own, worldwide he would fill arena’s.
Now the Rico Verhoeven fight takes place in his own country in his own city and there were than 1500 empty seats. On twitter I said congratz Rico but what happened with those empty seats you said you would sell out all tickets?
Rico Verhoeven as usual (like the 5 months) did not respond but this time SCOTT RUDMAN vice chairman and co-founder of GLORY starts to tweet back and tried to rescue this poor kid Rico. Like a daddy Scott was trying to answer for the little kid that cant answer or talk for himself. Now Scott knows I left his organization for 3 weeks at this point. Scott said on twitter: ‘’Den Bosch is not Amsterdam, Glory is still a buzz, GET IN!’’
So at this point everbody in Glory and Rico Verhoeven and his management KNOW that I left GLORY. And now he is still trying to lie on social media. He knows at this point it is impossible for me to fight and I have other obligations at this point. Cheap and sleazy way of GLORY and SCOTT RUDMAN.
I answered his tweet with ‘’the last fight wasn’t even in Amsterdam, it wasn’t even in Holland but in GERMANY. And I am from Rotterdam. But if the fight was in Amsterdam, I would sell out all tickets on my own, I have proven it before!’’
As goes for you now Scott, instead of tweeting you should be concerned about making Glory big after all these years, money and opportunities you wasted you smuck.
So at this point in also some other people from Glory start tweeting me, again knowing that i left Glory and can not respond. So pathetic and cowardly. One even said I should accept Rico his challenge..Which challenge? He never challenged me at this point? He was silent for months.
AGAIN LIES.
I tweeted back and said its too late now!
Again at this point Glory, Rico Verhoeven and his team know for 3 weeks that i left Glory and have other obligations and its impossible to make this fight happen. NOW at this point when Rico knows there can not be a fight, after 5 months he opens his mouth and says: ‘’ Saki if you want to fight pick up the phone’’
Like what kind of bitch action is that Bro? Are you that scared, are you that much of a coward? Glory starts reposting all his stuff calling me out, while they know that I left Glory. When I was at Glory and I was calling Rico out, they never put effort in reposting my stuff out. Again this shows how amateuristic and pathetic organization this is, politics and protecting their pet Rico. Carefully choosing their opponents and their kind of media censorship.
I said the truth that he didnt want to fight me from January or in short term because he wanted a rest. He said that i lie and i dont want to fight. This week he said in a tv show ‘’yeah i didnt want to fight saki at januari i needed rest because I fought Badr’’
Like this guys story changes every day, not consistent.
When i fought K1, i fought 8 till 10 matches a year, against real men. At this point you fought badr 1,5 round and you need a year break before you fight me?? I havent even fought for 2 years and still you need time that much time to prepare for me? You just wanted the fight after your renewal contract in MAY.
Then Glory said to me in January, if i first could fight someone else, this would be Remy Bonjasky fight. I said i want Rico but if he doesn’t want it, i fight Bonjasky first, BUT ONLY IF GLORY GARANTEES THAT RICO WILL FIGHT ME THAN. I would have fought Bonjasky in March or May. Rico again sabotaged this with stretching time on accepting my challenge, hemessed up the whole fight between Bonjasky and me. Remy stood up and accepted my fight and he was down to do it! So I salute you for this, a guy who comes back at retirement at such short notice, and Rico says Bonjasky needs to much time to prepare, the guy is 41 years old and didn’t fight for years, Rico only wants unprepared fighters, more chance to win!
Meanwhile these last months, i have other offers but still i am calling rico online out, but still no balls.. All these months he was silent and said not oneeee thing after i repeadetly called him out. And know that he knows that i left the building, he opens his big mouth. Your fans should be ashamed of you and your lying ass. Just running your mouth like a puppet with those studied lines from your managment: "i only eat whats on the menucards, fighters come with only smoke no fire etc etc"
PS: you called me a mutherf*cker in an interview, real men dont bring in family or wife and kids, thats what cheap bums do. Guess fits you well
A debut date has yet to be set for the kickboxing great, but he has indicated that he would like to make his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Rotterdam on September 2.
