What's with the Gokhan Saki hype?

[FlyingDeathKick]

No elbows allowed and very limited clinch, you're only allowed to clinch for 3 seconds in Glory and you aren't allowed to strike in the clinch at all in k1.

 

[Thunderchild]

Saki + 4 years more of MMA training = LHW GOAT

Not serious, but who knows lol.

4 more years? Isn't he already 30 something? Dat Erick Silva timeline; always enough time to be a hot prospect.

 

[Skarsgard]

Cliff notes for the attention challenged:

• Not impressed.
• Almost TKOed by bottom tier 205er.
• Saki hype will die down when people realize he's past his prime.

He got tired sure, but I didn't see him get seriously hurt by any stretch. Looked like he was rolling with everything da Silva threw pretty easily.

 

[knowsitall]

Didn't he fight at lhw in kickboxing? Mma fighters cut so much weight lol

At HW against monsters like Semmy, Bonjaski, Rico, Aerts, Hari and even against final form Ubereem.
He fought a lot of dudes that where way way bigger than him.
But wrestling/JJ is going to play a big factor when the people you fight are much larger.
If it would be just standup I don't think it would be such an issue.
Really think he would be better suited at 185 (ufc needs a 195 div)

 

[HHJ]

I honestly can't begin to imagine he will ever become a remotely serious contender, however I would love to see him in some favorable matchups against other guys who basically do nothing but stand.

Theres a place for him to have fun fights. You obv don't wanna put him against beast wrestlers until you have to. I am glad he is here.

 

[Yodsanan]

No elbows allowed and very limited clinch, you're only allowed to clinch for 3 seconds in Glory and you aren't allowed to strike in the clinch at all in k1.

I was making fun of Black Belts in Muay Thai. equivalent of mike perry black belt hands.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

I was making fun of Black Belts in Muay Thai. equivalent of mike perry black belt hands.

Yeah well wikipedia says he's a blackbelt in Muay Thai lol. In Thailand there is no ranking system but some places outside of Thailand go by a ranking system. They have him listed as a Muay Thai black belt on his UFC page as well.

 

[AusMMAfan]

Looked below average to me

Ref had to call and early stoppage cause he saw Gokhan starting to fold

All the hype you see about him on sherdog is likely coming from UFC/WME shills

Nah Saki has been in combat sports for ever and has a big Turkish/kickboxing fan base.

Watch any of his fights and you'll hear the fans chanting "Saki, Saki, Saki!"

Hopefully, the Dutch support him too. He's been a top 5 HW kickboxer for ages.

 

[AdeptOmega]

Wait....What??? Turkey has a great wrestling school just like any country from the former eastern block! And Caucasus is just over the mountains to the east, he can go to Dagestan or bring some good trainers and sparring partners from there to help him out and put him in a grappling clinic in the next period. And i am sure that there are some black belts in Turkey (country of 70+ million) to teach him some solid bjj...

um...to the best of my knowledge Turkey was never a part of eastern block

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

I don't see anyone hyping him up. We are just happy to see a kickboxing legend throw down in the UFC.

 

[MPD-Psycho]

Probably because he has a manga/anime style name.

 

[JayJayMMA]

The guy looks like he has decent stand up and power but I don't see him ever beating Jon Jones or anything like that.

Serious question, was that the first fight you saw of his?

He was handling Prime Ubereem in the K1 Grand Prix even though he broke his hand early then his arm. He was landing easily and if continued probably would have fought Aerts in the final. Multiple titles at lower classes too.

Plus what an awesome name!

 

[LHWBelt]

A great comparison is ANDY SOWER in RIZIN he is a really fun guy to watch and is improving fight to fight.

The young japanese dude is better, like Tenshin or something. That dude was good at kickboxing but he's crossed into fighting both young enough that the sky is the limit.

 

[FKA]

Andy sower is dutch and older then saki he is 34.

 

[Guile]

He didn't really have any hype before last night.

He's the most well rounded pure striker in MMA right now. By a landslide.


I thought his TDD looked ok at best and he was having a hard time keeping De Silva off of him. Imo, as a big fan.. He's not going to be able to improve enough to handle top tier grapplers.. He would need to move to the states and really make some serious changes..

There's nobody in Turkey that's going to be able to bring his grappling up to par.

And honestly, he doesn't need to waste time learning anything other than take down defense and escapes. I doubt he's even training in a cage. His focus should be on not getting backed up, and using his footwork to avoid the takedowns and pressure.



I just think he's way too far behind to be able to make those improvements at his age and point in his career. But damn that was fun, keep giving him fun fights.

Its far too early to say his striking is above anyone elses. I mean he has already lost to Overeem in K1. Silva was hitting him with some decent shots and Silva is by no means a great striker. MMA striking isnt the same as kickboxing.

 

[CrimsonFan]

Its far too early to say his striking is above anyone elses. I mean he has already lost to Overeem in K1. Silva was hitting him with some decent shots and Silva is by no means a great striker. MMA striking isnt the same as kickboxing.

u hhh No it isn't.

 

[Deleted member 474013]

Decent performance, keep an eye on him

 

[HHJ]

I mean he has already lost to Overeem in K1. .

If you've seen this fight,you know that this doesn't mean anything. He had a ridiculous blow for blow battle with Daniel Ghita,and was coming into that overeem fight with injuries from that machismo hall of fame war.

I do believe Overeem will have a big advantage in MMA,but a fresh Gokhan could KO the reem in kickboxing for sure.

 

[MGS]

That's because Jon Jones can't even fight for the next 4 years.

Exactly that. Oh and Conor's doing his thing and Ronda is nowhere to find. Just on social media Dana was ALL over Saki, posting like 3 times WOW, Saki!! Pretty obvious and cringe how he's hyping him even harder.

 

[AC1D1K]

what a treat to see saki in the UFc !