“I mean, he’s been one the best fighters in the Lightweight division for many years. I’m a big fan of Pride, and Gomi has been at the top of food chain for a long time.”
“As fighters, we all want to fight the best, but I never thought it would happen. I never thought that Gomi would come over to the UFC… He’s looking for a big challenge in his career right now, and that’s exciting. I think it’s a huge treat for the hardcore fans who’ve been following this sport for a while.”
Kenny Florian to Sherdog.com on how he views his fight this evening with Takanoro Gomi at the UFC’s Ultimate Fight Night 21. KenFlo’s only lost twice at Lightweight (Sean Sherk, BJ Penn) and is universally regarded one of the division’s best, however, it was only a few years ago that Gomi was considered the overall best at 155 lbs. Gomi’s lost two of his last four fights and was also dominated by Nick Diaz at 2007’s Pride 33 event (although ruled a “no content” thanks to Diaz’s marijuana use), so Gomi enters the fight as a solid underdog at +280ish. To Gomi’s credit, he uncharacteristically looked chiseled at the weigh-ins for the fight and it should be a good scrap.
