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Gokhan Saki reveals injury that forced him out Khalil Rountree fight at UFC 219 on Dec. 30

By Adam Guillen Jr.
MMA: UFC Fight Night-Saki vs da Silva Susumu Nagao-USA TODAY Sports

UFC 219 suffers yet another setback, as fearsome striker Gokhan Saki was forced out of his Light Heavyweight bout against Khalil Rountree -- which was set to go down inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 30, 2017 — after suffering an injury in training.

“The Rebel” took to Instagram to break down the details:

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!!!! Sizlerin de bildiği üzere, UFC 219’da dövüşmeyeceğim. Her ne kadar bu kötü haberi sizlerle paylaşan ilk kişi olmak isteseydim de mental olarak toparlanmaya ihtiyacım vardı. Antrenman sırasında geçirdiğim sakatlık üzerine hastaneye gitmem gerekti. Ekibim, doktorların tedavi olmam gerektiği görüşünü dikkate alarak bu kararı aldı. Kabul etmek zor olsa da sağlığımı ilk planda tutmam gerekiyor. Bu dövüşü büyük bir heyecanla bekliyordum ve dövüşemeyecek olmak bana sevenlerimi yarı yolda bıraktığımı hissettirdi. Bunun üstesinden gelmek oldukça zordu. Ancak kabul etmek gerekiyor ki sakatlık da üst düzey sporların bir parçası. Şu anda tedavi sürecindeyim ve yakın zamanda antrenmanlara başlayacağım. Rakibim Khalil’e bu maça hazırlandığı için teşekkür ediyor ve kendisine 30 Aralık’taki mücadelesinde başarılar diliyorum. Ve siz tüm sevenlerime, destekçilerime değerli mesajlarınız için teşekkür ediyorum. 2018’de hepinize KNOCK-OUT sözüm var! Gerekirse bir dizimle ya da dizim olmadan, her şeyimle orada olacağım!!! #ufc219 #ufc #kickboxing #boxing #mma #comeback #recovery #2018 #gokhansaki #fighter #fans #smile #power #knockouts #tur #turkiye #usa #lasvegas #la #hollywood #rotterdam #schiedam #fitdutchies #fit #healthy #türkiye

A post shared by Gokhan Saki (@gokhansaki) on

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 made a successful Octagon debut earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 117, knocking out Henrique da Silva in the very first round...as promised. The victory was Saki’s first in mixed martial arts (MMA) after an extensive and prosperous career in the kickboxing arena.

Rountree will now face promotional newcomer Michal Oleksiejczuk at the year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event. UFC 219 previously lost a bantamweight showdown between former division champion Dominick Cruz and Jimmie Rivera after ‘“The Dominatorr” was forced out with another injury.

The year-end extravaganza will be headlined by a women’s featherweight champion bout as division title-holder Cristiane Justino will defend her belt for the first time against former women’s 135-pound champion Holly Holm. In the co-main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov makes his long-awaited return to face Edson Barboza in Lightweight action.

To see the most up-to-date UFC 219: “Cyborg vs Holm” fight card click here.

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