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UFC 3/31 Charlotte, North Carolina

By Zach Arnold | March 31, 2010

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Takanori Gomi comments to media after his loss to Kenny Florian

In a nutshell, he said that he would continue fighting as long as his body holds up. He said that he was annoyed of always feeling pressure and he wants to fight like he knows he can (like himself). He wants to challenge himself to become better and bounce back.

Dark matches

Main card

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 56 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

56 Responses to “UFC 3/31 Charlotte, North Carolina”

  1. Grape Knee High says:

    Let’s hope Gomi improved his cardio enough not to embarrass himself. I like both fighters, but I think Florian takes this easily unless he fights recklessly and leaves himself open to Gomi’s power.

    I have to root for Gomi here simply because nothing interesting comes out of a Florian win other than that it cements him as the top gatekeeper until Penn moves up to 170, which he is already as it is. But many possibilities do out of a Gomi win.

    This is interesting on many levels, not least of which is the idea of western vs eastern MMA training methods and techniques. I think we’ll see Florian come in bigger and cut more weight. I think we’ll see Florian with better cardio. I think we’ll see Florian with more actual overall MMA skill. All this despite the fact that he’s been a fighter for far less time and also physically older than Gomi. Gomi’s only advantage is his natural power, and I think this relative lack of advantage is indicative of the severe differences in their training styles and prep than anything else.

    I’d be f*cking thrilled if I were wrong and I am actively hoping that I am.

    • Oh Yeah says:

      It may be interesting to see how good Florian’s boxing is now. He was pretty willing to stand in the pocket vs. Guida showing improved skill/strength.

      One of Kenny’s biggest problems when he fought BJ was that he couldn’t back BJ up with anything and so threw one or two weak shots at a time while on his horse. He won’t be able to grow a Penn-like chin, but there is slight hope that he could gain the vision and ability to land with power while using his footwork and length to avoid Penn’s crushing hooks.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    I think Nelson vs. Struve is the most important fight of the night. If Struve can get padt Nelson, he will put himself in a good position right behind the elite of the division….

    • The Gaijin says:

      Are you just going to write Nelson off as nothing more than a “gatekeeper”/”scalp” type of opponent?

      I think he can give a lot of the guys at the top of the heap some problems. Hell, if the guy can get himself into a real camp with some legit training partners I think he could make some noise. He’s got some pretty solid striking and his ground game is quite polished…his body type gives him some weird advantages on the ground.

      • IceMuncher says:

        I think Nelson would get crushed by the elite. His body type gives him no advantages, he’s up against guys as big as him but with muscle instead of fat. Velasquez and JDS destroy him on the feet, the rest out-muscle him and stop him via overwhelming power. He’d stand a chance against Nog, but that’s about it.

        • Detective Roadblock says:

          I think if Nelson wins he makes a good keep busy fight for JDS.

          Put the loser in with Mir.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        If Nelson competed at Light Heavyweight, I would give him a much better shot.

        He is 6 feet even, which makes him the 2nd shortest Heavyweight on the entire roster (only behind Barry). The guy has a huge gut that doesn’t always help him. He would get wrecked against Lesnar, Cain, JDS, or Carwin. Probably lose but make it interesting against Mir or Noguiera.

        So yeah, I look at him as a high level gatekeeper. I can only take a guy so seriously who doesn’t take his own career that seriously either.

  3. klown says:

    I am so excited about the UFC HW division. Lesnar-Carwin will be epic.

    It’s a shame for Velasquez to cool his heels in the meantime though. I really think he should fight Dos Santos in the meantime I’m familiar with the counter-arguments but I’m not overly worried about there being a dearth of HW challengers.

    And who will JDS fight in the meantime? I can think of no worthy challenger beside Cain.

    How awesome would Nogueira vs Kongo be? It would be a real test of where Nog stands in 2010. He could easily dismantle Kongo following the Mir blueprint. And if Kongo wins, we’ll have ourselves another contender at HW.

    As for Mir, what do you guys think of matching him up against the winner of Struve-Nelson? And Gonzaga can take on the loser of that fight.

  4. edub says:

    Very weird set up card. I know the UFC has been trying to get into the eastern markets for a while and Gomi is still one of the highest draws where Mixed martial arts is concerned, but having him in the main event against Florian is still crazy to me. In saying this I of course will watch the fight and it could very well be entertaining. I just don’t see anything compelling from the maincard.
    You have Gomi vs Kenflo which only really has implications if Gomi wins. Nelson vs. Struve to see who deserves a spot outside the top 5 in the UFC’s division. A slugfest between to middle of the road fighters in the UFC’s MW division. Then you have the one I’m looking forward to the most. Pearson vs. Siver.
    Ross has looked very much like the real thing in his fights for the UFC so far. Mixing brutish control with takedowns and underrated striking he seems like a smaller quicker Randy Couture. Siver you have a great kickboxer who’s looked like he’s finally found his stride in the UFC after the great body kick KO against Kelly. If Pearson is impressive I’d like to see him put in with Guida.

    The undercard is pretty stacked as usual. Linhares vs Okami should be pretty competitive.

    Back to the main card, if Nelson wins I think a fight with him and Mir is compelling. It’d be a rematch of them grappling against each other a few years back, and Nelson was pretty dominant. After Mir’s muscle gain I think it could be an intersting grappling fight on the ground, granted thats if the fight goes there.

  5. Dave says:

    This card is weird, as in it is better than most of the other UFC cards this year, PPVs included. I’m not just saying that due to Gomi, as I see Gomi getting crushed by Florian.

    Jason High’s debut is awesome, and Uno/Tibau is a great fight with a ton of experience in the ring at one time there.

  6. karat3 says:

    I don’t see how you can say florian wins easily. Gomi has better hands, better chin, better footwork, better wrestling. Only way I can see florian winning is if he runs like he did vs huerta. If gomi somehow doesn’t gas 😉 he wins, people who think florian can hurt gomi in ANY way standig are delusional.

    Forgot this ?

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4714250829083384258#

    • Dave says:

      True, but exhibit Diaz through Hervey says “ouch” to your argument.

    • Brad Wharton says:

      I’d venture that it’s more delusional to offer a video that’s over a decade old as proof that someone can’t be hurt in the stand up by a very competent fighter like Florian.

      • Zheroen says:

        Florian has finished from a standing position how many times, compared to Gomi?

        Not to say that Florian isn’t capable of subbing Gomi, but it would be unwise (based on fight history and skill sets) for Florian to test the waters standing with him.

  7. Jonathan says:

    War Gomi!

  8. 45 Huddle says:

    I’m hoping Gomi wins so Penn has another challenger. Then Gray Maynard will be ready after that. And hopefully after those 2, then can get a new challenger ready after that.

    Don’t want to see Penn move up. It’s pointless….

  9. The Gaijin says:

    My boy Roy – putting all you haters on notice 🙂

  10. 45 Huddle says:

    Gomi looked horrible. No clue how to deal with a decent level of striking technique.

  11. Alan Conceicao says:

    It has been crystal clear for some time now that Gomi is washed up. I just don’t know why people worked themselves into a frenzy this time. Was he ranked anywhere near the top 25 by anyone?

    • edub says:

      Completely agree. There was no point to this match being made. They should’ve put him in with a much lesser challenger or waited for their show in Japan and have him fight Uno. I guess after both of their losses that could still happen.

      Florian should put him on his back a lot earlier in that fight IMHO.

  12. marlowe says:

    The Pride fan boys had him beating anyone, except BJ, at 155 lbs in the UFC.

    • Alan Conceicao says:

      Like who? And why? He looked like crap in Sengoku. He wasn’t even good enough for the #2 promotion in Japan, he sucked so bad.

      This is like when the UFC decided to randomly sign the shell of Denis Kang, and it was all of a sudden like people had to pretend he was still capable of fighting at a world class level.

      • Mark says:

        Exactly. I saw nothing but apathy about Gomi coming in except in a few delusional cases. When Cro Cop came in everybody expected him to be Heavyweight champion in 3 fights. When Nogueira came in everybody expected him to destroy the division with ease. When Wanderlei came in he got a 50-50 split of people who thought he’d dominate like PRIDE and those who thought he was done for as a top tier fighter.

        But when Gomi came in all you saw was “he’s lost to worse opponents than anybody the UFC would put him in.” 2005 was a long time ago.

  13. edub says:

    “This is like when the UFC decided to randomly sign the shell of Denis Kang, and it was all of a sudden like people had to pretend he was still capable of fighting at a world class level.”

    Those were the same Pride fanboys. Kang was never that great in the first place. Who was his biggest win? Ninja?

  14. Dave2 says:

    That performance from Gomi made me want to cry.

    After three years of disapointment coming from Gomi though, putting him in with one of the top lightweights in the world probably wasn’t the best idea. I was hoping that putting him in with a top lightweight would re-energize Gomi. But it seems like Gomi needs more time to recover. That was an awful performance. Gomi used to be much better than this. Gomi has really, really gotten worse since getting choked by Nick Diaz.

    • Kelvin says:

      They could have put him in there with Melvin Guillard and he probably would have lost.

      • Dave2 says:

        He probably would have lost to Guillard. Much like the UFC’s big guns from 2006 are no longer what they used to be (Tim Sylvia, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Matt Hughes, Sean Sherk. All of these guys are past their prime now), a lot of PRIDE’s aces from those days are no longer that great. And Takanori Gomi sadly is not an exception to that. With Chuck Liddell or Cro Cop, it’s understandable because these guys are past their physical prime. But with Gomi, he’s still in his physical prime. That’s what makes this case tragic. His problem seems to be purely mental. With Cro Cop, a big part of it was mental for sure (where was that scary killer K-1 striker versus Junior Dos Santos? Cro Cop looked like a mouse versus Dos Santos) but at least he had the whole aging excuse. Gomi doesn’t.

        • Kelvin Hunt says:

          Oh for sure..majority of it is mental…you know though…once you’ve been an MLB allstar…then get demoted to the minors…it’s REAL hard to get back to the majors.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      The only thing that has gone from Gomi’s game is his confidence. He is still the same fighter from his prime Pride days.

      He always had decent takedowns and top game. Had an amazing chin and threw huge haymakers.

      Throwing looping punches doesn’t work anymore. Ask Chuck Liddell where looping punches gets you in MMA today. A simple (and not even great) jab by Kenny Florian lit him up.

      You put the 2005 Takanori Gomi into today’s fight with Florian, and the only difference is that he would have more aggressive, but that would have just left him more open for getting taken down and being countered by Florian’s superior footwork and striking.

      Gomi just never improved enough to make it to the next level. He was great for a specific era. That era has been passed by superior fighting techniques and strategies.

  15. Jonathan says:

    Gomi’s fight went the way that I thought that it would. I know guys like 45 Huddle probably got their rocks watching the former Ace of Pride Bushido get choked out, but I think Florian does that against most lightweights. But I was still pulling for Gomi and hope to see him back in the UFC real soon against an opponent that he can beat. And for the record, I would choose him over Melvin Guillard.

    • Mark says:

      If anybody thinks Gomi losing was a shocker then you’ve ignored the past 3 years of Japanese MMA. He’s shown he can’t beat grapplers anymore. As Alan said if he sucked in Sengoku why would anybody believe he’d be good in UFC? He’s one of those fighters who had a ton of success very early in his career and doesn’t think he needs to change even though it’s painfully obvious MMA has passed him by. This was obvious 3 years ago.

  16. klown says:

    I’m loving these Fight Nights that turn out better than full cards.

    So what do you guys say about Mir vs Nelson and Gonzaga vs Struve?

    • Detective Roadblock says:

      Those would be good fights. But I think a better set are:

      Nelson vs JDS
      Mir vs Gonzaga
      Struve vs Kongo

      On the Gomi topic I think his biggest problem is he’s not getti g friendly matchmaking and judging anymore. I bet he could have beat Jens Pulver tonight. And he was only a few minutes from winning a PRIDE decision.

      • klown says:

        I like your match-ups stylistically, but the match-maker in me rebels against them. Basically, I believe that a fighter coming off a loss should face a lower-ranked fighter than himself, and a fighter coming off a win deserves a shot at a higher-ranked fighter. In the cases above:

        * I am frustrated by the UFC’s decision to bench Velasquez while giving Dos Santos more fights. Ever since he knocked out Werdum, JDS has gotten nothing but fighters ranked WAY lower than him or not even ranked at all. The “Four Horsemen” are bound to face each other eventually, so why delay the inevitable? There is no one besides Lesnar, Carwin and Velasquez that JDS can be matched with right now that wouldn’t be a step down for him, in my opinion.

        * Gonzaga has still beaten nobody ranked higher than a dismal Mirko CroCop. He needs to fight someone below himself, not a Top 5 fighter like Mir. Up-and-comers like Nelson and Struve, or even lower guys like Buentello and Yvel are fair matches for Gonzaga at this point. Mir needs an easier fight than the ones he’s gotten in the last couple of years, but it should be someone coming off a win, not a loss (to justify the opponent rising in the ranks to meet him.) That’s why I like Nelson.

        * Similarly, Kongo deserves a tougher fight coming off his victory over Buentello. I’m really attached to the idea of matching Kongo with Nogueira for a good old grappler vs striker contest. As for Struve, what justifies him rising in the ranks to face Kongo after this brutal KO loss? I’d put him up against the winner of CroCop vs Barry, or Yvel.

        Having said all that, I have a strong feeling your match-ups will be the ones set up by the UFC crew, and I’d enjoy them just the same!

        • Detective Roadblock says:

          Velasquez should only have to wait until some point between November and January to face the Carwin/Lesnar winner.

          I’d like to see Velasquez/JDS as the co-main on carwin/lesnar and build to the next mega-fight.

          You guys are right in that there’s no one else for JDS to fight as far as guys ranked above him. He could fight Mir or Kongo. I think they won’t want to risk Mir losing again. But Mir would be nice on JDS resume.

          If you do Mir vs jds then Kongo vs Nelson is a nice fight. Let Gonzaga beat up Struve.

          I’d really like to see Mir vs Gonzaga. I think it would be a fun fight.

      • Alan Conceicao says:

        My intuition is that they will want to try and bring Mir back into the title picture more quickly than by matching him with Gonzaga. He’s a promoter’s favorite and someone the fans know. I think the problem is that they have a legitimacy problem with a lot of the heavyweight division. I mean, if you’re gonna feed him a can, you feed him Struve. That guy can’t fight a lick. He’s a sucker for straight punches and tight hooks of any kind at all, and he’s a striker! I’d actually go so far as to say that they’d do Mir/Lesnar III before JDS gets a title shot.

        I think JDS is going to have to run the gauntlet if he wants to stay in the UFC and get a title shot. Nelson is a great next fight – big strong wrestler who’s not going pretend he can engage in a boxing match with Dos Santos and is tough enough to absorb shots too. After that, I imagine it continues with guys like Kongo, whoever falls out of the UFC title picture, and so on.

        • IceMuncher says:

          The way you say, it sounds like the UFC is avoiding JDS. I don’t think that’s the case. I think the UFC really likes him. He’s a striker that’s very aggressive and KO’s people.

          His current status has more to do with the fact that there’s like 5 different HW guys the UFC wants to have fight for the title, and someone has to be at the end of the line. He’ll fight one or two stay-busy fights and get his shot after Velasquez.

  17. klown says:

    I would like to see Florian avenge his losses to Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez. You rarely hear me advocating rematches, but when someone is on the road to greatness, like Florian is, it behooves you to clean up your record like that.

    Beyond their significance in cleaning Florian’s record, the matches would be meaningful. Despite recent setbacks, Sherk and Sanchez are still top lightweights in the UFC (better than anyone besides Penn, Florian, Edgar and possibly Maynard). They are also fun stylistic match-ups. Let’s remember they both reduced the old Florian to a bloody mess!

    Keeping Florian occupied with these two fights would give other top LWs a chance to contend for the title, namely Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard and perhaps one more up-and-comer. They would also give Florian the opportunity to improve his game in anticipation of a second title shot.

    By the time the 2nd title shot comes around, BJ Penn may very well have vacated the title to contend at welterweight. If not, Florian would have earned a second chance to face off against the 155 king. Remember, Rich Franklin was given two shots at Anderson Silva before his chances of regaining the middleweight championship were deemed hopeless. Jon Fitch, who is in a similar situation, will also likely get another shot at George St-Pierre before pressure mounts on him to abandon the weight class – or the promotion.

    Let’s also keep in mind that Florian was handicapped by an atrocious gameplan in his first fight with Penn. We can assume that a year spent training and avenging old losses would equip Florian with more confidence, experience, and a better strategy to challenge Penn.

  18. Mark says:

    I didn’t even bother watching TUF Season (let’s pretend like its) 11 (years ago.) Liddell mumbles and tells Tito he’s going to kick his ass at the PPV. Tito pretends like he’s still the same guy who stirred up Ken Shamrock years and years ago and makes many worn out “Last of the Mohicans” references. It’s far too early to have a 00’s nostalgia show don’t you think? Maybe they should wait another 5 years and have the TUF cast comprised of mobsters who got whacked on The Sopranos on one team and former nu-metal musicians on the other. The Fred Durst vs. Big Pussy heavyweight bout will rule.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And yet the talent pool actually looked better then most previous years in a long time.

      Still a lot of crap to watch with the show. DVR is your best friend in order to get right to the fights.

      • Mark says:

        You’re right, but the fact that they’re running 28 fighters leads me to believe between 30%-50% are going to be reality show comedy gimmicks so combined with Tito’s annoyance level I just can’t do it even on DV-R.

        And since every message board/comments section reply I’ve read on it only talks about a guy breaking a door already (Man, pace yourself!), a douchebag Frenchman and a fighting crackhead (no, not just a guy who looks like he smokes crack like Kimbo or Jardine, a legit crackhead Bumfights style~!) I believe I made the correct choice. I think I’ll wait until episode 3.

        • Steve4192 says:

          Why the hate on the guy who kicked his drug habit?

          Matt Brown was a heroin junkie, Lyle Beerbohm over in Strikeforce is a former meth head, and Karo Parisyan & James Irvin have both had bouts with painkiller addiction, yet I would gladly tune in to watch any of those guys fight. If a guy can fight, who cares what demons he has in his past?

        • Mark says:

          Because the guy himself has turned it into an angle for publicity. I’ll die laughing if they turn “can Court pass a drug test?” into a episode cliffhanger before his fight. And quite frankly the Kevin Iole piece he did reeks of James Frey level BS. Karo and Irvin don’t hype up how screwed up on drugs they are like Court McGee has so far. And I don’t know if it was totally his idea or not, maybe it’s the UFC’s idea to turn him into the MMA Bubbles.

          I’m definitely calling “Million Little Pieces” lies and exaggerations on this guy. His life story is far too interesting to be totally real at only 25. Iole will believe anything, but I won’t. He freaks out around ketchup, was a full-blown addict right after high school, was pronounced dead twice, lost skin in a bad car wreck, had his mail order bride flee back to Russia, and somehow wound up in nothing but his tighty whities after a drug binge a thousand miles away? Come on. Even his name Court McGee sounds phony. My tinfoil hat is officially on.

    • klown says:

      I confess I watched the first episode, and to be honest, there’s some scary dudes in there. It’s way early to really tell, but so far, so good.

  19. David M says:

    Gomi embarrassed himself. He has no footwork at all. His game looked amateurish at best. Gomi would stand flatfooted and throw a big punch, then Kenny would land like 3 jabs and move in and out. Gomi didn’t even look interested in being there. What the hell kind of training do they do in Japan? Has Gomi ever had a boxing coach?

    I knew Roy was gonna kill Struve, who sucks. Struve has no idea whatsoever of how to use his reach, and Roy’s boxing is excellent; he has really good timing and is surprisingly quick. LOL @ whoever said he should fight at 205…this dude weighed in at 263, which means he probably walks around at a lot more than that. Even though he has a lot of fat around his midsection, I don’t think he could lose 60+ pounds.

    Nate Quarry looked horrific; his defense was just to take punches–he did not move his head the entire fight. It was sad to watch. That fight should have been stopped sooner.

  20. Mark says:

    @steve4192 Because he has (or UFC has convinced him to) turn it into an angle. You didn’t see James Irvin or Karo Parisyan tell crazy drug stories to try to get over (they left that to Ricco Rodriguez), or worse yet talk like they’re some kind of junkie martyr with the “my victories will be victories for recovering addicts everywhere” jargon. And I think flaunting a serious addiction is asking for trouble in one of the strictest drug regulation sports in the world. But maybe UFC thinks they can make a mint turning him into the MMA version of Bubbles, who knows.

    And after reading the Kevin Iole interview, I’m calling James Frey on the guy. Nobody, at 25, has a life that interesting. I mean, he freaks out around ketchup, was a full-blown addict right after high school, was pronounced dead twice, lost skin in a bad car wreck, had his mail order bride flee back to Russia, and somehow wound up in nothing but his tighty whities after a drug binge a thousand miles away? Come on, that’s straight out of “A Million Little Pieces.”

  21. spacedog says:

    MArk, I have no idea if the guy is telling the truth but baring the Russian bride I’ve seen all those things happen. Drugs are f**ked up and a lot of Sh*t can go down quickly and in dramatic fashion.
    I have a feeling that the UFC is playing the whole thing up and using TV magic to sell an angle. Give the guy props for kicking crack and let it go at that.

    • Mark says:

      No one says they don’t happen. But not all to the same person in what, a 3 year span? He has unGodly bad luck if true. I mean, is it that out of the realm for a reality TV contestant trying to make a name for themselves to exaggerate and/or lie about events that capture your attention?

  22. 45 Huddle says:

    I’m sick of this place. Leaving it for good…

    • klown says:

      Hang in there, 45. Your comments are among those that keep this place interesting. You love the drama, too, admit it!

    • Fluyid says:

      What are you sick of? The articles? Zach?

      Don’t get sick.

      Just post what you want to post and that’s that. Right?

    • Mark says:

      Is this really 45 or an imposter or a late April Fool’s prank? The last time you left “for good” it was when you were getting pounced on by everybody over some crazy comments you made. People have left you alone for a while so I don’t get it this time.

  23. David M says:

    45 when did you become so emo?

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