Light heavyweight Gokhan Saki had to pull out of his bout against Khalil Rountree at UFC 219. The event is taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 30th. After reports began to circulate he posted an update on Instagram to squash speculation and rumors.
As has been announced everywhere, i’m not fighting on the UFC 219 card. I wanted to announce this myself but i needed some time to recover mentally from this bad news. I got injured during a training and went to the hospital for this. My team and management took the decision with the medical team that i needed treatment and i have to think of my health first. I didn’t want to accept this but i’m glad i have the right people around me. It felt like i let my fans and supporters down, i was really looking forward to this fight. So the bad news was a bitter pil to swallow. But this is top sports and injuries are unfortunately a part of it. I’m recovering now and will be back in training soon. I want to thank my opponent Khalil for preparing for me and i wish him best of luck on December 30th. I want to thank all my fans/supporters for their great messages and i promise you 2018 i will give you KNOCK-OUTS! One knee, no knee, i will be there violently!!!!
Saki is a scary striker and his removal from the card is truly disappointing. We wish Gokhan a speedy recovery and a quick return to the Octagon.