Gokhan Saki tried to train through a bucket handle meniscus tear for UFC 219

Gokhan Saki is one tough son of a bitch.

As if his crazy back and forth war with Henrique da Silva in his first UFC fight wasn't enough proof of that, it turns out the kickboxing legend tried to train through a bucket handle meniscus tear to fight at UFC 219.

The issues with Saki's knee started all the way back in 2012 but really started to impede him following the da Silva fight in September. After that, his knee started swelling up while training for UFC 219 , and he finally went to a doctor to have it checked out.

“They took me to an MRI and they found that I had a bucket handle tear in my meniscus," Saki told MMA Fighting. "So there’s just a big hole in the middle of my meniscus. I told the doctor that I really wanted to fight on Dec. 30th. I told him even with the injury I wanted to fight. He told me to take one or two weeks rest and then to start training again, but not jiu-jitsu or anything that’s too tough on your knees."

“I took the two weeks off and I flew to Miami to do a camp there and in the first training I hurt it more. I threw a kick, I didn’t turn my leg enough and now the tear is even bigger.”

Whoops.

Now that he's stopped trying to fight through the injury, Gokhan could be recovered in time to fight in March or April.

"For so long I have been dealing with this injury," he said. "And now that it’s fixed I’m going to be able to do a lot more."

That's a scary thought for those in the Light Heavyweight division. Saki is already looking extremely dangerous this early into his UFC career. Now he'll have both legs firmly under all his power punches. Watch out!