Gulf News

Saki ready for Ciobanu on big fight night

Strong line-up of fighters for today’s third edition of Global Fighting Championsh­ip

- By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter

Glory Light Heavyweigh­t Champion. Gokhan Saki is all set for his challenge against Romanian rival Sebastian Ciobanu at the third edition of the Global Fighting Championsh­ip (GFC-3) at the Dubai Tennis Stadium today.

Presented by Golden Cage Promotion and Events, GFC-3 is part of a series of fight nights involving some of the best Mixed Martial Arts, Kick Boxing and Muay Thai exponents from across the world.

The Rebel

Nicknamed “The Rebel”, Saki won the Glory Light Heavyweigh­t World Championsh­ip Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey on April 12, 2014. when he scored a technical knockout against Suriname’s Tyrone Spong in the final.

The Dutch-Turkish who is hoping to make a winning debut in Dubai told Gulf News at the weigh-in at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Thursday: “I’m all set for the big night and the big fight.”

One of the highlights will be the four-man knockout tournament which off a winner’s prize purse of Dh1 million.

Current WBC Muay Thai Super Cruiserwei­ght World Champion Steve McKinnon of Australia will take on Zabit

Samedov of Azerbaijan while Jafar Ahmadi of Iran will fight Danyo Ilunga in the semi-finals, with the two winners progressin­g to the big cash prize and the right to qualify for the season-ending GFC Grand Prix.

Tonight will feature an exciting undercard of seven bouts.

Dubai-based Jamnian Srikam (Thailand) will take on Saeed Nouri Long (Iran) to open the night in a Super Welterweig­ht bout, followed by Adrian Garlonta (Romania) taking on Jashid Givehchi (Iran) in a Middleweig­ht fight.

Welterweig­ht bouts

Action will continue with a couple of Welterweig­ht bouts with Jason Woodham (UK) fighting Masoud Minaei (Iran) and Bradley Riddell (New Zealand) taking on Maseh Nuristani (Afghanista­n).

The next three bouts will be in the Heavyweigh­t category with Murat Aygun (Turkey) squaring up against Tofan Pirani (Sweden), Srdjan Seles (Serbia) facing off against Jean Gaetan Sautron (France) and Andre Meunier (Australia) will be up against FrenchMoro­ccan kickboxer Naufal Benazzouz, who trains in The Netherland­s.

Supported by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) with sponsorshi­p from Tampa Middle East, Grosvenor House, Zengo Restaurant, Prize Fighter, Amika Dubai, Amazing Thailand, Bong event management and Rely BTL Production and Services, the gates at the Dubai Tennis Stadium will open at 6pm today.

Nicknamed “The Rebel”, Saki last fought in Istanbul on April 12 last year where he needed just under two minutes to score a technical knockout against Suriname’s Tyrone Spong in the final of a light heavyweigh­t combat sport championsh­ip.

 ?? Arshad Ali/Gulf News ?? Face off Gokhan Saki Squares off against Sebastian Ciobanu in the third edition of the Globai Fighting Championsh­ip (GFC-3) at Dubai Tennis Stadium.
Arshad Ali/Gulf News Face off Gokhan Saki Squares off against Sebastian Ciobanu in the third edition of the Globai Fighting Championsh­ip (GFC-3) at Dubai Tennis Stadium.

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