Welcome to the UFC light-heavyweight division, Gokhan Saki. The former kickboxing champion lands with a BANG!
Returning to Japan for the first time since 2015, the UFC presented Fight Night 117 last night. Originally meant to be headlined by Ovince St-Preux vs. Shogun Rua 2, the show went ahead with Yushin Okami replacing Rua on short notice.
Okami wasn’t up to the task and was submitted and slept by OSP on his home turf. Saint Preux’s trademark Von Flue choke got the job done again. Also featured on the card was a women’s strawweight war for the ages.
Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade, renowned for their feisty styles, made a perfect match. Both slugged it out for three hard rounds, but eventually, Andrade got her bloodied hand raised in victory.
On to the subject of the article, undoubtedly the best fight of the night, and it featured one of kickboxing’s best champions. Gokhan Saki faced Henrique Da Silva in a wild one-round brawl.
Gokhan Saki’s Debut
Place Henrique Da Silva in a kickboxing ring with Gokhan Saki, and it would be a very different fight. This is MMA, though, and that fact made this an extremely intriguing and eventually thrilling battle.
Saki was getting rocked, tired from the grueling five minutes he’d never experienced before. Silva tried to round out the fight by trying to get the finish, but that was a big mistake.
Saki bit down on his mouthpiece and uncorked a rocket of a left hook. Da Silva went out on his feet. Although he woke up when he landed on the canvas, the fight was clearly done. Watch Saki’s brutal UFC debut below:
What a Punch!
Although he looked tired and rocked, you gotta remember this was Saki’s first MMA fight and his UFC debut. With such a brutal KO as his first step in the octagon, there’s no doubt the UFC light-heavyweight division is paying attention to Saki.
Not only did he wreck his foe while on the edge of being finished, Saki pulled out an epic post-fight celebration. Check out Ben Fowlkes’ video from Twitter:
You guys? I think I have a new favorite post-fight celebration. pic.twitter.com/PV8QPQZx9I
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) September 23, 2017
All in all, a riveting card from Japan. Below is the full list of UFC Fight Night 117 results, including Takanori Gomi’s likely last fight. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share and like our content on social media!
Main Card (Live on FXX, 10:00 PM ET)
-Ovince Saint Preux defeated Yushin Okami by Technical Submission (Von Flue Choke, Round 1, 1:50)
-Jessica Andrade defeated Claudia Gadelha by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
-Dong Hyun Kim defeated Takanori Gomi by TKO (Strikes, Round 1, 1:30)
-Gokhan Saki defeated Henrique da Silva by KO (Punch, Round 1, 4:45)
-Teruto Ishihara defeated Rolando Dy by Unanimous Decision (28-27, 28-27, 29-27)
-Jussier Formiga defeated Ulka Sasaki by Submission (RNC, Round 1, 4:30)
Preliminary Bouts (Live on FXX, 8:00 PM ET
-Keita Nakamura defeated Alex Morono by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Syrui Kondo defeated Chan-Mi Jeon by Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
-Shinsho Anzai defeated Luke Jumeau by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Daichi Abe defeated Hyun Gyu Lim by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
