Report: Takanori Gomi vs. Pang Sung Hwan at Sengoku 4

by Luke Thomas on Jul 9, 2008 10:13 AM EDT in News

The Korean site MFight is reporting that the opponent of Takanori Gomi will most likely be Korean Pang Sung Hwan. Hwan would be a very good and legitimate opponent for Gomi. He is the current DEEP Lightweight champion after knocking out SENGOKU Lightweight tournament participant Kazunori Yokota in under 4 minutes and handing him his first ever loss. Looking at their styles it should be a very entertaining fight if it happens.

I won't say that Pang is necessarily the best opponent for Gomi for an experience point of view, but the match-up should provide for stand-up fireworks. It will also provide the Japanese crowd the opportunity to cheer for the Japanese victor over a Korean opponent should the outcome swing for the hometown favorite.

For those who've never seen Pang fight, I included a couple of his bouts after the jump.

Pang vs. Jutaro Nakao:

Pang vs. Kazunori Yokota:

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Is it just...

...me and Breen who care about stuff like this?

by Luke Thomas on Jul 9, 2008 11:13 AM EDT 0 recs

No way...

but as much as I enjoy watching Gomi fight, it’s painful to see WVR feeding him highly talented-yet-underseasoned prospects while he refuses to move outside of Japan to face tougher competition.

by Chris Nelson on Jul 9, 2008 11:44 AM EDT up 0 recs

No. I just don’t have anything to say about it. And since I can’t actually watch the match live, it makes it difficult to get as excited for this match as for, say, DREAM 5.

On television, not a terrible feed on my laptop.

by Brett Jones on Jul 9, 2008 11:40 AM EDT 0 recs

Bolding not intentional. Apparently using a * (star) makes things bold.

by Brett Jones on Jul 9, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up 0 recs

I love Japanese MMA

But it is so hard to find the DEEP, Shooto, and Sengoku shows int he US that I usually read Breen’s write ups and then search youtube and daily motion for whatever fights I can find. I think if people say they are true MMA fans, they have to support and be a fan of Japanese mma.

by Nick Travaglini on Jul 9, 2008 11:44 AM EDT 0 recs

Agreed

I love the Asian mma scene, but quite frankly, outside of Dream, it is a pain to get.

I would love for Cuban or ProElite to get some of these shows, even on a tape delayed basis a week later, especially with the WVR LW GP coming up.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jul 9, 2008 12:14 PM EDT 0 recs

FYI...

From now on I’ll be working to get all the major (and even not-so-major) fights from Japanese cards posted on YouTube/Dailymotion ASAP.

(In fact, there’s a whole bunch of stuff from Shooto’s most recent Shooting Disco card in the Fanshots right now…)

by Chris Nelson on Jul 9, 2008 12:25 PM EDT 0 recs

Awesome, thanks for the work.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jul 9, 2008 12:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

“I won’t say that Pang is necessarily the best opponent for Gomi for an experience point of view, but the match-up should provide for stand-up fireworks.”

Dude, come on. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call this guy something other than “not necessarily the best opponent”? Look at the guys he has fought.

Losses: Seichi Ikemoto (16-14)
Wins: Naoki Matsushita (9-10), Yoshihiro Tomioka (12-5), Jutaro Nakao (21-13), Luiz Luiz (7-6), Kazunori Yokota (6-1)

Also, he has 1 KO, 1 TKO, and 4 decisions. Hardly a recipe for fireworks.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 4:20 PM EDT 0 recs

I dunno

Yokota is an excellent prospect and Nakao a talented UFC veteran. Same with Ikemoto (not the UFC part). It’s not really fair to look only at their records and say this isn’t a decent opponent particularly given that Gomi has fought once since losing to Nick Diaz. Do I at all favor Pang? No. Do I think Pang is some sort of pushover? Absolutely not.

by Luke Thomas on Jul 9, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

He also KO’d Mishima in a tag team fight. KO/TKO’s over Mishima, Nakao, and Yokota isn’t bad, but you probably don’t know who any of those three are.

by oOkami on Jul 9, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

-I don’t know anything about MMA tag-team matches, nor does that embarrass me in the least.
-I know Nakao is a 21-13 fighter.
-I am ignorant of Japanese prospects such as Yokota. However, I think I know what it means to lose to a 16-14 guy (Ikemoto), and I think it casts doubt on your suitability to fight the #1 guy in your division, and one of the best fighters in the world.

Everything else, I consider spin.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 5:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

Mishima is

Dokonjonosuke Mishima and he, too, is a UFC vet. Nakao also KO’ed Tony DeSouza. And for the record, lots of Japanese guys have fairly mediocre records, but that doesn’t make them terrible fighters. Inconsistent or perhaps not world beaters, sure.

by Luke Thomas on Jul 9, 2008 5:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

I know who Dokonjonosuke is, I was commenting on the “tag team” part.

I didn’t imply they were terrible fighters, I said they were an unsuitable offering for Takanori Gomi, which I think most would agree with. I don’t like the politically correct “not necessarily the best opponent” spin—tune-up is more like it.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 5:45 PM EDT up 0 recs

When was that fight in Pang’s career?

Aoki lost to 15-9 Nakao (by KO) in his MMA debut.

by oOkami on Jul 9, 2008 5:45 PM EDT up 0 recs

According to FightFinder, the loss to Ikemoto was on July 8th, 2007 or almost exactly a year ago. What’s your point?

I saw Nakao’s victory over Aoki in his record. Congratulations to him, but I also saw 13 losses and 4 draws in there, so I don’t think I would rank him anywhere near Aoki. Upsets happen, and they don’t always mean much.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 5:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

My point is that you write that “I think I know what it means to lose to a 16-14 guy” when a current top 5 LW lost against an almost similar opponent at almost the same stage in his career.

by oOkami on Jul 9, 2008 5:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

It meant the same thing for Aoki 3 years ago, as it does for Pang today. If today was October 2005 (a year after that KO loss for Aoki), I would say that Aoki had not earned a shot against Gomi either.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 6:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

Maybe I should be more specific and say:

“I think I know what it means to lose to a 16-14 guy a year ago and not redeem yourself in the intervening period, i.e. it does not make you qualified to fight the #1 in your division yet”.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 6:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

One last post.

I don’t think you actually disagree with my main point, which is that this guy does not make a deserving opponent for Gomi. I think you’re unhappy with my tone, and are focused on nit-picking.

by ResidentGoon on Jul 9, 2008 6:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

Of course, he doesn’t quite deserve it yet. But I think he’s ok while Gomi is waiting for the winner of the GP.

"I think I know what it means to lose to a 16-14 guy a year ago and not redeem yourself in the intervening period, i.e. it does not make you qualified to fight the #1 in your division yet".

I think he has more than redeemed himself after losing his debut fight (if he didn’t have fights in Korea before) and defeating Nakao, Yokota, Mishima, and Tomioka (yes, that is also a good win) in under 1 year.

And why is it a fluke when Nakao beats Aoki, but when Ikemoto defeats Pang it’s “I think I know what it means”?

Did you see Ikemoto vs. Pang? A 0-0 Korean against a long-time veteran in DEEP and Pride veteran, it smells bullshit decision a long way, even more so because its in DEEP.

by oOkami on Jul 10, 2008 2:15 AM EDT up 0 recs