Kickboxing Legend Gokhan Saki Booked For UFC 226

Gokhan Saki dazzled MMA fans with a stunning first-round knockout against Henrique da Silva in his UFC debut back in September.

Saki’s incredible kickboxing background demonstrates a level of striking not commonly seen in the UFC, and thankfully his next opponent will oblige him in a stand-up scrap.

Saki has been rebooked to fight Khalil Rountree at UFC 226 after an injury forced Saki out of their original match-up at December 30’s UFC 219:

Rebooked!@GokhanTheRebel vs. @War_Khalil will go down at #UFC226! pic.twitter.com/U4lMXdYARR

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 13, 2018

Saki obliterated da Silva in his promotional debut, but before that, he hadn’t fought in MMA since a 2004 loss. That makes it 13 years in between MMA bouts, yet Saki kept busy in kickboxing, winning the Glory light heavyweight title and tournament, as well as a runner-up in several K-1 tournaments.

Meanwhile, Rountree shook off a rough 0-2 start to his UFC career by scoring two brutal knockouts in a row. Rountree competed at UFC 219 and lost to Michał Oleksiejczuk in Saki’s absence, however that loss was overturned to a no contest after Oleksiejczuk tested positive for a banned substance.

Rountree’s stand-up, striking-based style is exactly what Saki is looking for in an opponent, but will Saki’s kickboxing experience prove to be too much for Rountree?

UFC 226 takes place on July 7th in Las Vegas.