Ex-UFC fighter Gokhan Saki returns to kickboxing after inking new deal with GLORY, set for fight on Oct. 23

Gokhan Saki is going home again.

The former GLORY champion has inked a new deal with the promotion to return to kickboxing after his last there took place back in 2014.

GLORY officials announced the signing Friday.

“We are proud to announce that Gokhan Saki returns to the GLORY ring and will be in action October 23 at GLORY Collision 3 at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Holland,” GLORY Co-Founder Scott Rudmann said in a statement. “Saki brings competitive spirit, striking skills, and explosiveness to kickboxing and stand-up combat like few others. His talent is among the elite in the world of combat sports.

“He has been training with some of our top fighters recently, and our organization is delighted to have him on the Collision 3 card and to have GLORY fans around the world be able to see him in action again. It’s time for GLORY.”

Regarded as one of the top kickboxers in recent history, Saki faced a laundry list of top opponents over the years including memorable bouts with Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Ray Sefo and Daniel Ghita. He also lost a razor cloze majority decision to current GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven back in 2013.

Saki became the first ever GLORY light heavyweight champion during a tournament that saw him earn wins over Nathan Corbett and Tyrone Spong on the same night but that also served as his final appearance with the promotion.

Eventually, Saki decided to make another run at a career in mixed martial arts, which resulted in a deal with the UFC where he debut in 2017.

Saki earned a Performance of the Night bonus in his first fight after knocking out Henrique da Silva in the opening round but then he suffered a TKO loss in his next appearance against Khalil Rountree Jr.

Saki was later released from the promotion after only two fights with the UFC.

Now he will make his return to kickboxing with his first fight back in GLORY scheduled as part of the upcoming GLORY Collision 3 pay-per-view from Holland on Oct. 23. Saki’s opponent will be named at a later date.