UFC Fight Night 21: Kenny Florian Dismantles Takanori Gomi
by Nate Wilcox on Mar 31, 2010 10:10 PM EDT
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The highly touted Takanori Gomi made his UFC debut live on Spike TV from North Carolina against perennial title challenger Kenny Florian to headline the UFC Fight Night 21 card. The UFC sold him as an "all time great", "the last PRIDE champion" and his 30+ wins were mentioned.
Former title challenger and TUF veteran Kenny Florian entered the cage as the home country fighter, well known and respected by the fans.
He then proceeded to utterly dominate and dismantle Takanori Gomi. Florian picked Gomi apart standing in the first round but waited until the third, when Gomi began to land punches on the feet to shoot in for the take down where he immediately got dominant position and choked the fading legend out. 
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Jabfest
Until the third. Did Gomi even come to fight? Disgusting.
by William Wilson on Mar 31, 2010 10:10 PM EDT reply actions
Gomi… what happened to the RUCKUS :(?
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by Patrick Tenney on Mar 31, 2010 10:11 PM EDT reply actions
I think UFC have plans for Gomi
They mentioned trying to do a show in Japan some weeks ago. The additions of Gomi, Akiyama and Uno help lend a little credibility to a future Japanese show. Plus, don’t count out Gomi yet, yes he got destroyed by K Flo, but, many other LW’s have been in the same boat, yet, they are still on the roster. This should put Gomi on notice. This should be a motivating factor in his career, the guy is only 31 y.o. so he can still be a force in the future. This begs the question. Who does Gomi fight next?
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
Hopefully Gomi gets his shit together.
"The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things." - Miyamoto Musashi
by Kaleb Kelchner on Mar 31, 2010 10:14 PM EDT reply actions
i think, unfortunately, this was when he was supposed to get his shit together
by cagefightonacid on Apr 1, 2010 3:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Every fight
I am impressed by Florian’s head movement.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
And his boxing in general looks better and better. One of my favorite fighters to watch work. There’ll be some people saying that Gomi sucks now, or that he was never that good, etc., but you can’t tell that just because Kenny owned him. He’d do the same to just about everyone else at LW.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Apr 1, 2010 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Pretty much...
Kenny is that good and he doesn’t get enough respect.
I truthfully think he would have looked better against Penn, but he fought scared. I’m not saying he would have / should have won, but he wasn’t fighting his fight. Kenny is the number 2 LW in the world…
Stick a fork in Gomi, cause he's done.
At least when it comes to competing at a high level. Seriously, it’s over for him unless he starts switching up his training and really gets his shit in tact.
I don't want to lick any butt. - GSP
by pud333 on Mar 31, 2010 10:14 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
sadly for some of these guys from Pride ( mainly Gomi and Cro Cop) I think the game has just evolved to much for them to ever be great again. A lot of these guys from Pride are not done age wise but its a different era. Its really sad.
by xbuckeyex05 on Mar 31, 2010 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Well, Gomi got tooled by Kenny which is nothing to be ashamed of. But he has clearly lost a step. I don’t know if its him losing a step, or the game starting to pass him by, or both. I love Gomi, but I really really really hope he takes a hard look at himself and his training. I don’t expect the old Pride stars like CC and Gomi to regain their former glory, but I would like to see them challenge instead of being stepping stones. It seems that in this sport, when you start to lose a step, it’s really tough to get it back.
I don't want to lick any butt. - GSP
Such an ridiculous comment.
Seriously, the UFC put Gomi in with one of their best lightweights, and he’s still improving. Gomi got handled, but seriously… he’s done? He could beat most of the bottom tier of lightweights.
People need to cut the over-the-top garbage comments like this. And I imagine all of tomorrow will be the same thing. Kenny owned Gomi with the jab… blah blah blah. Yeah, Kenny is obviously a much better fighter than Gomi, but Gomi isn’t the same.
Gomi was unbalanced, had terrible footwork — not even close to reminiscent of his old self, shit defense. He has glimmers of power, but his technical striking isn’t there. Will he ever be back? He’s 31 and has had bouts of depression over the course of the last two years.
I’ll give him some time. I think he can improve, but will he ever beat Kenny? I doubt it. But to say he’s done completely is absurd and narrow-sighted. I expect better opinions from the BloodyElbow.com community.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions
At least when it comes to competing at a high level… unless he starts switching up his training and really gets his shit in tact.
And how exactly is this completely different from your assessment?
Stick a fork in Gomi, cause he’s done.
We could have done without this.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions
People have said the same about Liddell and asked him to retire.
I don’t see a major problem with it. A champion goin back to the middle of the pack is basically done as far as the masses are concerned.
Now, if someone were to tell me the same about Nate Quarry… I’d probably agree. Quarry is on the downside of his career. Even more robotic than before and slower.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Gomi was unbalanced, had terrible footwork — not even close to reminiscent of his old self, shit defense. He has glimmers of power, but his technical striking isn’t there.
Gomi never had impeccable footwork, or brilliant defense.
I don’t think people understand that technical deficiencies are often, if not apparent, revealed against better more technical fighters. If Gomi of 2005 fought Florian of 2010, he would have lost regardless: it’s easy to display good footwork against fighters that can’t jab (Kawajiri – who is great by MMA standards), can’t properly defend (Azeredo), or can’t even throw a punch (Ishida).
This is not to say Gomi still isn’t a great striker. Gomi’s brilliance was always down to his ability to go to the head, to the body, and being able to throw in combination as fast as he could react to someone else along with just plain having natural power. You saw this a bit in round 2 when Gomi was actually getting the better of the exchanges despite Kenny’s anti-Sylvia jab. Florian has a damn good chin himself, and I don’t think people give him enough credit for it (took bombs from Penn, and never folded).
I think Gomi can continue to have success, and I think Gomi actually looked pretty good in spots, but Florian just looked that much better. It wasn’t that long ago that Gomi looked pretty good – against Nakakura, who is sadly unnoticed as an excellent, very technical counter striker who was the cream of the crop in a division with solid fighters like Ganjo (disputed or not), Endo, and Hirota. Cries of Gomi ‘fading’ were uncalled for before the Florian fight Gomi is no more flakier now than he was in his prime and they’re uncalled for after. Florian is the real deal, and just might be the best LW in the world not named Penn.
by David Castillo on Mar 31, 2010 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Two things should give Gomi fans hope
1) He look tired by the second. Cardio can be fixed.
2) No one in mma, except for the few exception (BJ, Florian, KJ Noons, Lil Nog) can throw an effective jab. Gomi is technically lacking in his boxing, but I would still take it over a lot of the wrestling first fighters of the UFC. Pair him up with the right guy and he’ll knock his block off.
While Florian asked to fight Gomi, should he have really fought the (arguable) #2 Lightweight at his first fight in the UFC
I don’t think that Gomi should have fought Florian to begin with. I know that Florian asked for this fight, but Gomi was obviously just not on Florian’s level, but I would have liked to see him against someone like a Sam Stout. I personally don’t feel that he should have been thrown in the deep end of the UFC Lightweight Division at his first fight.
My mind said yes, my heart said no.
Thank you for many great years in PRIDE Gomi.
Kind of a heartbreaking night
everything in me wanted to see an impressive Gomi
Moisture is the essence of wetness.
I'm really bummed about this fight...
Uno also.. I kinda figured that both were gonna lose, but I was still rooting for them to win… Sucks. :(
Let's have some perspective
Before even coming to the UFC, Gomi has spent the last three years turning in performances that ranged from unimpressive to downright embarrassing against opponents that ranged from obscure to middling. Matching him up against arguably the second best fighter in his division was, to put it bluntly, premature.
You can’t put it into perspective. Most of the morons who flirt around here will say that Gomi is completely finished in MMA altogether after being handled by the #2 lightweight in the world. Yes, the number fucking TWO lightweight.
Gomi had been bad the last two years. I’d give him some time. If he’s truly serious about putting in good performances, he needs more time. He won’t beat Kenny or BJ, but he could, at the very least, become a top five guy.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions
What has Gomi done in the last 3 years that gives him any credibility as a top lightweight?
by VirtualBalboa on Mar 31, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Who said he was a top lightweight? I’d say he’s out of the top ten right now, and that’s where I rank him within our own rankings and the IWMMAR.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions
So if after 3 years of this, that’s not enough…when will it be enough? How many more times do we need to see him paraded out before its OK to say that he’s done? 3 more? 4 more? When he hits his mid 40s?
by VirtualBalboa on Mar 31, 2010 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Until he loses to garbage from the sounds of things...
If it is cool to say Cro Cop is done, then it is cool to say Gomi is done…
You're making a really bad point...
And I’m not sure exactly what it is.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Apr 1, 2010 4:00 AM EDT up reply actions
This follows a pattern that has been going on for years with Gomi of poor performances. But we’re idiots for noticing that he has looked like crap consistently? Instead we should appreciate the fact that he could snap back to form any second now? Until when can we do that? When he loses to lousy fighters? Oh, wait, he already has.
Its not going to happen. Unless you were being paid to promote this fight and any subsequent bouts, I don’t know why you would pretend otherwise.
by VirtualBalboa on Apr 1, 2010 8:13 AM EDT up reply actions
No, you’re idiots for saying that he’s potentially done in the sport and has no room to improve.
People continue to forget. Gomi has to prove to everyone that his depression is behind him. I’d have to give him a real good look against great competition over the course of a few fights to make a decision as to whether he’s done. Kenny is a top notch #2 lightweight in the world, and because Gomi had a bad outing, he’s suddenly shit?
Three fights is my limit. If he looks considerably shit after three fights, he’s officially done in my book. If he’s diminished in his second fight, the book is closing quickly.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Apr 1, 2010 8:55 AM EDT up reply actions
"If he’s diminished in his second fight, the book is closing quickly."
Especially given the UFC’s cut policy.
Gomi's recent decline looks to be right in line with that of:
Chuck Liddell
Tito Ortiz
Matt Hughes
Mirko “Cro Cop”
Wanderlei Silva
Call it losing a step, call it the game catching up to them, but they are similar situations accross the board.
Sure, any one of these guys good revilatize their careers… Maybe Wandi is in the midst of that, but I didn’t hear people fussing about any of them being called done.
Just because he got a UFC contract doesn’t mean that he should get a blank slate with fans as far as his recent performances go. What happened with Florian is the same sort of freeze up that’s happened over and over and over again.
I just can’t believe you need to see him lose three more times before you come to what should be an obvious conclusion.
by VirtualBalboa on Apr 1, 2010 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Picked apart standing? Seriously?
I enjoyed the fight, but my fear about Gomi getting his back taken was ever present. The sad irony for Gomi is that Florian was only looking for a takedown as a reaction to getting stunned by the best punch in the fight. As a Gomi die-hard I am disappointed by how easily he got beat on the ground, but I think the commentary during the first two rounds was atrocious. He lost round 1, but by the 2nd was finding his timing and landing good body blows. It wasn’t a blowout and he wasn’t getting “picked apart”. It is probably a little too late in his career to expect his defensive grappling to get much better, but he can still hold his own in kickboxing exchanges. I look forward to seeing who they’ll match him up with next
by smoogy2 on Mar 31, 2010 11:07 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I felt the second round was a decent round for Gomi. To be honest, Gomi has NEVER been a defensive boxer. He has never really gave a shit about jabs to his melon, but I thought the second was getting a bit solid for him.
The real disappointment was the grappling. Gomi needs to come to America, wrestle his ass off and gain some jiu-jitsu chops. His balance was atrocious in my opinion. I felt like the switching was keeping his hands off balance and he was being hit during exchanges and lunging at Kenny, then eating the counter. Even if he clipped Kenny with a lunge, it wasn’t going to hurt him at all. Just poor form in those attempts.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Mar 31, 2010 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Hopefully he transplants to AKA full time…
When Gomi stunned Florian, it was actually from southpaw. I don’t think the stance-switching was the problem, it just seemed like a combination of Florian fighting up to his ability/keeping his preferred range, and Gomi being overly tentative to let his hands go and move forward. Once he finally stepped in with a classic Gomi power combination, he scored a big shot.
You were watching with obvious bias.
Gomi was soundly beaten in both the first and second round. The few body shots he landed were negligible compared to the amount of stiff jabs he ate.
by George Lucas on Mar 31, 2010 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
In the 2nd round the jab was not nearly as effective for Florian, and Gomi was actively slipping it to get inside for his body shots. The best punches in that round were right hooks to the body from Gomi, and in the 3rd the tide seemed to be turning when he landed that left hook (I think) on the jawline that made Florian react with the takedown. It was never like Diaz vs. Gomi, where he was getting hurt repeatedly by jabs and lost his composure. On the ground, Gomi looked bad, but beyond one good shot about a minute into the fight, he was always in the fight.
by smoogy2 on Mar 31, 2010 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
2nd was a decent round for him...
…but he still lost that round IMO, and was losing that fight all the way to the RNC. So yeah, I guess I would say he was getting picked apart and didn’t see anything wrong w/ the commentary on that point.
I actually thought he MAY have won rd 2
and before anyone (lucas) wants to cry bias, I put hundreds of real dollars on Florian and was a bit nervous in round 2. Rd 1 was clear and obvious Flo, the second was a lot closer and one might argue Gomi won that, as he landed some good power shots, while jabs are not scored as highly.
Fortunately it all came through in the end.
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by Cory Braiterman on Mar 31, 2010 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions
agreed
thats why keith was telling kenny to go out and win decisively
Cigano, it is your time to avenge your master's loss!
Making the world a better place, one dirtbag at a time.
Being paranoid about losing thousands of dollars can taint your perception of a fight just as easily as being a fanboy of one of the fighters.
The only significant “power shot” Gomi landed in the entire fight was in the 3rd round. You could plainly tell that Florian’s jabs were connecting more stiffly and causing more damage than Gomi’s few glancing hooks.
I wonder who Gomi will be fed to next?
I thought Kenny would have mixed in some takedowns before the last round, but overall turned out like I thought it would, though I did call for a decision win for Ken-Flo rather than a finish. Had a feeling I might have been overly generous though. I guess I was really hoping Gomi would have been in the fight, win or lose.
Gomi just had no answer for that jab, and was completely outclassed. He looked like he had no business being in there. Hell, it looked like he was just tired of being in there at the end and just wanted a way out.
Boceck, Danzig or Guillard would be my picks, each one is a challenge but has obvious flaws and if Gomi can’t show any ability to adapt his gameplan to exploit them then he should just hang it up for good.
by George Lucas on Mar 31, 2010 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Interesting picks. Guillard at least might make for more of an entertaining-type slugfest for Gomi to take part of, so I’d favor that one a little more than Danzig or Bocek.
With Guillard, Gomi has to recognize when to incorporate his takedowns and not get baited into a slugfest that he’ll likely lose, especially now that Guillard is using the Jackson style of staying outside and picking his shots.
Against Danzig, Gomi would have to mix it up and use constant pressure until Danzig’s cardio and will give out. If he spends the whole fight looking for the bomb like he did against Florian, Danzig will have plenty of time to pick him apart.
Boceck would probably be his hardest fight. Gomi would have to be a lot less cavalier about giving up his back and his takedown defense would have to be in top form, but he could do well with some of his big punches.
by George Lucas on Mar 31, 2010 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Guillard: Makes for the most potentially entertaining of the three bouts IMO. I agree he would have to use his takedowns because, as you already note, now that Guillard’s picking his shots more, there’s a higher likelihood of Gomi getting KOed if he tries to go headhunting against Melvin. I still think Melvin’s takedown defense is suspect though so Gomi probably could take him down, but even though Guillard’s no Kenny Florian, I still Gomi would have to put in more effort on the takedown than we tonight.
Danzig: Also agree about exerting pressure on Danzig. A lackadaisical pace allows Danzig enough time to set up takedowns and take the fight to the ground(I just can’t see Mac trying to stand w/ Gomi any longer than he has to, nor do I think he can use the jab as effectively as Ken-Flo did) where he would probably submit Gomi as fast as Florian.
Bocek: Not sure I’d consider him the hardest of the three for Gomi, but I do agree on that point about giving up the back.
Great performance by Kenflo, i’ve been as hard on him as anyone after the BJ fight but after dominating both Guida and Gomi it’s clear he’s stepped his game up. This is the type of fighter and gameplan that caused me and others to be so high on him and if he continues on this path he will soon get another shot at Penn to redeem himself. As far as Gomi goes he better hope the UFC gives him a lesser guy and doesn’t throw him to the wolves at LW because of they do he’ll be packing his bags soon.
Gomi should have been more aggressive.
He met the most success in the fight when he was coming forward, he really just didn’t look comfortable backing up, and really, he’s never been as good of a counter-puncher. A really tough fighter to debut against, but I’m hopeful that Gomi can learn from this loss and come back better. Nice performance by Kenny though.
I personally felt that the commentary during the fight was incredibly annoying. It seems like whenever a former PRIDE fighter/Japanese fighter takes on a UFC fighter, Goldberg and Rogan jump behind their promotion’s boy. Belcher/Akiyama, Gomi/Florian, Shogun/Griffin, Nogueira/Velasquez. Eh, whatever.
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This fight was custom made to be a fight Gomi could not win. Not only was being in the UFC a brand new experience for the Fireball Kid, they put him against the number two ranked LW! Pride had no elbows and would’nt you know it, Florian has the best elbows in the division. In retrospect, the elbows didn’t have much of an impact. Florian was just too crisp in the standup and Gomi got flustered. I hope that Gomi can get it together, its not too late, maybee he can get with a a new camp that can breathe new life into his career. Maybee he can train with Florian himself?
"If your going to come on then come on!" - Harold Howard
This fight was custom made so Gomi could get a title shot if he won.
Gomi requested a top flight fighter and he requested one without a wrestling background. He got his wish and was even catered to. You have to believe they expected more fight out of Gomi and hoped they could find a new exciting challenge for Penn.
by truck on Apr 1, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
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