Gokhan Saki showed that his skills translated to the Octagon with a stunning first round knockout at UFC Saitama.
Gokhan Saki is a kickboxing legend making his UFC debut at 33 years old. With both GLORY and K-1 belts on his mantle, Saki is one of the premier strikers on the planet. Saki holds wins over Tyrone Spong, Ray Sefo, and Melvin Manhoef in his illustrious kickboxing career. On the other hand, he is 0-1 in MMA with his debut coming in 2004.
Henrique da Silva has had an up-then-down career in the UFC. The Brazilian came stateside and earned a pair of second-round stoppages in his first two Octagon appearances. From there, the wheels came off, and da Silva lost his next three bouts.
Gokhan Saki landed a counter right hand right away, then a head kick, and a beautiful left straight. Henrique da Silva kept pushing forward, but Saki popped him with another head kick. A left straight knocked down Henrique da Silva, and Saki allowed him up. da Silva shot for a takedown after standing up, but Saki shucked him off and went back to work.
Saki was more than happy to fight on the back foot, and let da Silva walk into his strikes. a front kick landed, then a flurry of left hands that da Silva devoured. The Brazilian was able to separate, and shot for another takedown. This time, Saki landed a takedown but did not follow da Silva to the ground.
Henrique da Silva used the clinch when returning to the feet and landed three consecutive knees to the head of Saki. The legend seemed to be fading ever so slightly, placing his hands on his hips for a moment. da Silva noticed and pushed forward, landing a head kick, then a series of elbows.
da Silva began to unload on Saki, mixing in body kicks with his strikes. Saki wasn’t defending, but began firing back, and landed a thunderous left hand that floored his opponent. Just like that, Gokhan Saki had his first UFC victory with 15 seconds remaining in the first round.
