According to Gryphon Japan, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva told Kamipro magazine that the reason he paired Takanori Gomi with Kenny Florian for his first Octagon bout was Gomi's request to face "a strong fighter... just not a wrestler" in his debut.
almost 2 years ago
Chris Nelson
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I still think Florian will end up outwrestling him.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
The guy has said that he's been training a lot or wrestling
and with the best MMA wrestler…GSP training him…he’s bound to improve and I have no doubt he’ll be getting some takedowns.
"To me, MMA is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other."
Nate’s wrestling has improved. It’s just not as good as Sonnen’s. And Gomi is nowhere near the wrestler at LW as Sonnen is at MW either.
Definitely
And Gomi is nowhere near the wrestler at LW as Sonnen is at MW either.
Just because Nate looked like a fish against Chael doesn’t mean he isn’t a great wrestler. Who cares that Gomi was able to take BJ Penn down when Sanchez, Stevenson, Sherk, Florian etc,. couldn’t, doesn’t mean he’s a good wrestler…right?
Who said Nate was a great wrestler? Not I. I said his wrestling has improved since training with GSP and the training partners that are included. And it has. Nice strawman attempt, however.
And Gomi is nowhere near the wrestler at LW as Sonnen is at MW either.
This insinuates that Nate indeed is “Great” and Gomi is an average, at best, wrestler…
No, it doesn’t. It states that Sonnen is a better wrestler at MW than Gomi is at LW. That statement doesn’t even evaluate Marquardt. Please stop embarrasing yourself.
Yep
Marquardt at MW definitely is a better wrestler than Gomi at LW considering all the people he has out-wrestled, whether it be using his TD’s or TDD…Wait, that can’t be right.
Fa! On to the next one…
I said Nate’s wrestling has improved. It has. It still isn’t as good as Sonnen’s. And comparitavely, Sonnen is a better MMA wrestler than Gomi.
Your continued failure to comprehend the statements here is getting pretty sad. Re-read the exchange again.
Damn son
How is Nate a better wrestler? Who has he out wrestled, taken down or defended the TD against? I can’t remember him beating a quality wrestler.
While Gomi’s victories have come against alot of good wrestlers, although none of them are at Chael’s level, very few are. Examples would be Mitsuhiro Ishida, Hayato Sakurai, and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Gomi is also the last person, at LW, to take down BJ Penn, which is no small feat.
Not sure what Nate has done for you to say his level of wrestling, at Middleweight, is better than Gomi’s, at Lightweight. If you’re going to respond, please don’t just say “U is dumb, Sonnen > Marquardt > Gomi Arrrg!” because that doesn’t explain anything.
I think you're misreading
I think he’s making two different and unrelated statements: “Nate is a better wrestler than he used to be” and “Gomi is not as good a wrestler, P4P, as Sonnen.”
I’m not reading him as comparing Nate with anyone except Nate, save for noting that Sonnen is a much better wrestler than Nate.
So Nate < Sonnen AND ALSO Gomi < Sonnen. I don’t think anything’s being said about Nate > Gomi.
I’m mainly focusing on the first sentence of your last paragraph here; if I’ve misread you, sorry :)
Usually the path to enlightenment is long and arduous.
Consider yourself lucky that it came so easy.
he may be the only one that does… I can’t think of another upper-ech UFC LW that doesn’t have a strong wrestling background.
For me the most interesting question leading into this fight
Is afterwards whether or not Kenny will have done enough to rematch Penn or if he’ll need another win. My guess is he’ll probably have to get at least one more win. Beating Sanchez would have been perfect, but now that’s off the table, so I don’t know against whom. That’s how much faith I have in this “return to form” Gomi will be experiencing.
The man known simply as "Christmas Cheesesteak"
Throw Kenny in there with Gray and that ought to sort it out.
"My only hope is that the Big Lebowski kills me before the Germans cut my dick off."
by Earl Montclair on Mar 7, 2010 8:38 PM EST up reply actions
I think you're right
They haven’t lined anyone up for Grey yet so I think he might get Kenny win or lose and Gomi will get Penn if he wins.
"To me, MMA is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other."
Say what you want about Kenny...
He has far better wrestling and striking than Nate Diaz and we all saw how that went. Then again, Grey never even attempted a takedown in that fight.
I wonder if they will give Gomi a shot after this or if they will make him wait another figh tor two? I just want to see him get his ass kicked again by BJ
If Gomi somehow makes it through Kenny he deserves the shot more than anyone else currently signed with UFC.
by Polyhedron on Mar 8, 2010 1:03 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I sure do remember Kenny
picking up and slamming Guida down during their match. If I’m not mistaken, Guida is a pretty darn good wrestler at 155, so I would not be surprised if Flo outworks Gomi in this department as well.
http://mixedmartialartsblogger.wordpress.com/
i hate hearing that fighters asked for a certain kind of opponent. anything else we can do to make your career easier for you?
by K Krush on Mar 7, 2010 10:55 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, it’s outrageous that a fighter should want some manner of control over his career and, hence, ability to make a living. Atrocious behavior. Must be a Japanese thing.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
by Mike Fagan on Mar 7, 2010 10:59 PM EST up reply actions 8 recs
Picking the best LW in the world not named BJ Penn (I love Aoki but he’s too 1D) is not a choice you make if you want to have an easy career.
by Polyhedron on Mar 8, 2010 1:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I believe that Gomi just wants to make a positive first impression. He knows that he’s more vulnerable to a Sherk-type than anything else, and the last thing he wants in his American debut (or at least UFC debut) is to make a negative impression of fans by sending the message that he can’t stop a take down. By having him fight Kenny that not only gives him the chance to put on a great show but it gives him a chance to live down some Octagon jitters without getting steam-rolled by some roided guy who cycles off at the right time.
I don’t get why everyone is forgetting Gomi has very good wrestling and takedown defence…as long as he is coming in shape, which i truly feel and hope he will, he is going to knock out Florian in the 2nd or 3rd. I am a little biased b/c Gomi is my favorite 155 fighter.
knocking out a guy who hasn’t been ko’d once when one is on the downturn of their career? stranger things have happened, but i’ll be betting on the guy with a much better overall game than a somewhat one-dimensional striker. said fighter who’s been fighting in rings and not cages for the past 6 years of his long, long career that’s had quite a few tremendous wars in them? yea, gimme flo in this one.
http://mixedmartialartsblogger.wordpress.com/
by Cory Braiterman on Mar 8, 2010 3:33 PM EST up reply actions
Gomi requested Kenny specifically? Holy fuck that guy is crazy.
by Polyhedron on Mar 8, 2010 1:00 AM EST via mobile reply actions 2 recs
It’s a good motivator for Gomi, who needs all the damn motivation in the world to return to form.
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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 8, 2010 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
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