Saki reacts to championship victory, Spong injury

Gokhan Saki (now 81-16 with 58 KO's) says the feeling of winning the GLORY World Light-Heavyweight Championship in front of an Istanbul arena filled with his countrymen is something he can neither describe nor forget.

“This was unbelievable,” he said backstage as he cooled down from the fight and wore his new world title belt. “It was indescribable. Something I will never forget. There are no words to describe this feeling.”

“For the last twenty years I have been working hard for this and I am so happy now that I won this belt and this glory.”

Saki says that walking to the ring draped in the Turkish flag accompanied by the roars and cheers of more than 10,000 fans in Istanbul is “the reason I am a kickboxer”.

‘The Rebel’ won two fights in one night to earn the championship title, installing him as GLORY’s first Light-Heavyweight Champion.

In the semi-final he stopped Nathan 'Carnage' Corbett (57-5, 45 KO's) via TKO. Saki backed Corbett around the ring with his trademark quick combinations before a left hook split Corbett’s right ear open and caused the doctor to stop the fight.

In the other semi-final, Tyrone Spong (91-6, 60 KO's) bested new Brazilian talent Saulo Cavalari (28-3, 18 KO's) over three rounds to take the spot opposite Saki.

The stage was set for an epic rematch - Saki had a 2009 win by KO over Spong - but things ended quicker than expected when Saki broke Spong’s shin by defending a leg-kick with a raised knee.

“I am so sorry for him and I wish him a speedy recovery. After I blocked his kick I saw that his leg was broken. He fell down and I was in shock to be honest,” Saki says.

“He said to me, ‘Did I break my leg?’ and I said ‘yes I think you did, but stay calm, everything will be fine.’ Then I stayed with him as the doctors came to the ring.”

Before that Saki had been feeling the full tension of facing a world-class opponent in a crucial career-defining fight.

“My first match finished after like two and a half minutes whereas Spong went the full three so I had a slightly better chance,” he said. “It made me a bit more confident but not [complacent]."

“I felt positive at the start of the match but I thought he might start throwing hard right away so I was cautious.”

Saki infamously suffered a broken arm in a 2010 tournament while fighting Daniel Ghita, then carried that injury into a fight with Alistair Overeem in the next round. Overeem attacked the damaged arm and was able to stop the fight quickly but Saki earned a lot of respect for his heart.

“I did break my arm and was able to carry on but this is a different situation,” Saki says when asked if the 2010 incident means he can relate to what Spong is going through. “These things happen in this sport but I feel bad for Tyrone and I hope he can return soon.”

And for those critics who want to suggest that Saki is wearing the belt because he got lucky, Saki has only a shrug of the shoulders and a shake of the head. “I don’t care what people say. I know that I am the best kickboxer in the world at this weight,” he says.

Cor Hemmers, GLORY matchmaker and a trainer of numerous champions in his years as a coach, has also made a point of explaining why the victory belongs to Saki and not to fortune.

“This [victory] is about timing. When you block at the right moment this [kind of outcome] can happen,” he told the post-fight press conference on Saturday night.

“We are sorry for Spong but credit must go to Saki for his defense. Spong kicks very hard and when you kick very hard onto a defense like this, you can get this result.”

Saki’s reign as champion is barely two days old yet already the question is being asked, who will his first defense be against? Hemmers isn’t sure yet.

“I think we first let him enjoy the championship and then we start to look at who his next opponent will be. There will be some internal discussions over the coming weeks as to who his first title defense will be, and you can get the news via our website GloryWorldSeries.com,” he said.

“Danyo Ilunga did a good job [at GLORY 15] and won by knockout [against Andrei Stoica], so he will earn a lot of ranking points for that. And also he is the former #1 so that puts him in a good position, but there are several options on the table.”

As for Saki, he knows what his first act as champion will be: a visit to his favorite fast-food restaurants. The former heavyweight has had to be strict with himself to get down to 95kgs (209lbs) and now the tournament is over, he is going to enjoy a few treats.

“Man…McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken… all at the same time!” he laughs. “But only for a short time. After that it is straight back to training. I don’t have any injuries and I am ready to go.”

GLORY’s next event takes place Saturday, May 3 in Denver, Colorado with GLORY 16 DENVER and the Heavyweight Contender Tournament.

Sergey Kharitonov, Errol ‘Bonecrusher’ Zimmerman, Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva and ’Banging’ Ben Edwards fight it out over one night. On the line is a spot in the Heavyweight World Championship Tournament taking place later this year, with the World Heavyweight Title on the line.