UFC Fight Night 21: Takanori Gomi

Takanori Gomi faces Kenny Florian in the main event of UFC Fight Night on March 31

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The decision to bring Takanori Gomi into the UFC lightweight division mix is a questionable one. Once considered one of the best lightweight fighters in the world, Gomi has lost some of that swagger due in large to his two-year slump that has produced only mediocre results (2-2). Nonetheless, back-to-back victories in his last two bouts have sparked some of the intrigue that was lost just in time for his UFC Fight Night 21 main event appearance opposite Kenny Florian on March 31st.

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This bout, although a tough task for his UFC debut, opens doors of possibility for the former Shooto and PRIDE champion. A flashback to the days of old would picture “The Fireball Kid” welcoming “Kenflo” wherever the fight may go.

The unpredictable Gomi could very well enjoy striking with Florian, much like he did during his PRIDE days that saw him knockout fighters like Jens Pulver and Ralph Gracie.

On the other hand, he may also revert to his specialty and choose to grapple with Florian. Gomi was indeed an accomplished wrestler and grappler prior to turning to mixed martial arts in the late 1990’s.

A victory over Florian would give Gomi a top-five position in the stacked lightweight division. He would automatically earn “contender” status and would surely receive another bout with one of the division’s elite. Maybe more importantly, a victory over top-level lightweight such as Florian would give Gomi some much-needed confidence.

Much of that confidence was lost when Nick Diaz defeated Gomi at PRIDE 33 via gogoplata submission. Although the defeat was eventually overturned due to Diaz failing a post-fight drug screening, the damage to Gomi’s mental game was already done. Whatever confidence he had remaining was dealt another setback when Russia’s Sergey Golaev took a split decision from him at Sengoku 6; later labeled the 2008 upset of the year by several publications.

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Gomi is on the comeback trail, earning victories in his two most recent outings. He stopped Takashi Nakakura at a May 2009 Shooto event and then earned a five round unanimous decision over American, Tony Hervey, at Vale Tudo Japan 2009 in October.

Gomi, still only 33, has a lot of solid fighting years ahead of him. If its challenges he is looking for, UFC Fight Night 21 will undoubtedly provide him just that. Hopefully, Gomi is up for the challenge and ready to take this latest opportunity and run with it.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer