If any fighter stands on the precipice of greatness it is Serkan Ozcaglayan. This kickboxer stands at the crossroads of training alongside greats such as Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, and Gokhan Saki. Additionally, he made his GLORY debut in 2021 with a first-round knockout of top-five ranked Matt Baker. Now, on GLORY 80 he will fight the number one ranked Ertugrul Bayrak. With 33 knockouts to his name, he is looking to make it 34 on March 19 and challenge for a title in 2022. Just steps away from realized dreams and greatness Ozcaglayan humbly says, “I fight for my bread.”
Serkan Ozcaglayan recently sat down with Tim Wheaton of MMA Sucka to discuss his upcoming fight at GLORY 80, title aspirations, training at SB Gym, and much more. See below for the full interview.
Knockout King Serkan Ozcaglayan on GLORY 80, Training with Greats and more…
Serkan Ozcaglayan on Training with Greats
“We have an amazing team,” Ozcaglayan admitted of the SB Gym led by coach Said el Badaoui, “It’s an honor to be trained with those guys. Because when I was a young kid I looked up to Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Gokhan Saki too. All the guys who fought in the K1.” As a young man, Ozcaglayan looked up to these kickboxing greats and now trains alongside them. “In the beginning, it felt difficult to train with them but now we are a team. We enjoy the training and help each other. I am happy to be with them in one team.”
“Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we train together,” Ozcaglayan said about Saki, “Physically he’s a beast, man. He’s a legend, a living legend. He still has the power, still has the speed. When I spar with him I need to keep the hands up, man,” Serkan said with a smile, “He’s dangerous!”
The Knockout King Serkan Ozcaglayan
The aggressive striker Serkan Ozcaglayan is on the hunt for the finish. The kickboxer has over thirty knockouts to his name and he’s looking to create even more. “I fight for my bread. I fight for my money, for my bread. For me it’s serious.” The fighter says he feels at home in the ring, “I’m very calm. And I see everything now inside the ring because I know I have already done everything for this, I trained very hard for this. The moment I step in the ring it’s like stepping home… The ring is my home”
“It’s an amazing feeling, the moment you knock somebody out. Everyone on the couch, everybody is screaming and… Wow,” Ozcaglayan was nearly speechless when discussing his many knockouts, “For me, it’s just business.”
Serkan Ozcaglayan won the GLORY 2021 Debut of the Year award for his knockout over top-ranked Baker. And at GLORY 80, on March 19, he will be fighting the top-ranked Bayrak and says, “I hope to have many more knockouts… You’re going to see a great knockout.”
In a recent episode of the Couch Warrior Podcast, host Mike welcomed Charalampos Grigoriou, who recently won a contract during season 7 of Dana White's Contender Series after knocking out Cameron Smotherman one minute into the fight. The conversation delved into Grigoriou's martial arts journey, his feelings on representing Cyprus and Greece, and future plans.
