I’ve been a fan of Turkish-Dutch fighter Gokhan Saki within the past year. He’s a very under-sized heavyweight who always fights with heart and determination. At his best, his kicks are beautiful to watch, and his fights are always exciting. This was a man who faced down Alistair Overeem with a broken arm, and even KNOCKED him down. He has the “fighting spirit” as the Japanese would say.

Saki had been clamoring for a re-match with Badr Hari since losing to him when they both were very young. So when I finally saw the re-match I remember being surprised at how easily Badr beat Gokhan Saki. I thought the match would be competitive for the first round, although I picked Badr to win simply on size advantage alone. But from the beginning Saki looked scared and tentative, like he didn’t want to be there. It made me wonder if he was injured or intimidated when facing Badr. I’ve never seen Saki look so lackluster, so ineffective. It also made me wonder if something emotionally was wrong with Gokhan Saki that his performance was so poor, so…. unlike him. In Gokhan Saki’s next fight, maybe a conclusion can be drawn on whether he was just outclassed, or something has gone wrong with Gokhan Saki physically or emotionally.

You can watch the fight below and decide for yourself: