» Fighter: Takanori Gomi

“Daddy” Joe Stevenson (31-9) was contacted by Fighters.com and UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) with an offer to come train with him. Stevenson told him no thanks because he believes he will get another title shot before the end of the year. Apparently BJ wanted a strong wrestler to train with for his fight against “The Answer” Frank Edgar (11-1)at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Joe must be losing his mind to say no to this opportunity.

Read More About Joe Stevenson Says No to BJ Penn to Beat UFC’s Champion…

As I surf the internet bouncing from one mixed martial arts(MMA) site to the next a reoccurring theme occurs. The discussion of Pride Fighting Championships, the fighters, the rules and now a select number of fights being show on Spike TV. This brought back fond memories for me and made me think about the current state of MMA and what made Pride stand out from the crowd.

Read More About Best of Pride on Spike TV: Fond Memories Never Fade…

An anticipated matchup between Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and recent UFC signee, former PRIDE champion “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) was announced on the Twitter page of MMA Live, the ESPN.com show Florian co-hosts.

Read More About UFC Fight Night 21: Kenny Florian Versus Takanori Gomi, TUF 9 Champ Ross Pearson…

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and recent UFC signee, former PRIDE champion “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) are on a collision course as a runaway train of hype grows for a showdown between the two fighters.

Read More About Hype Building For Kenny Florian Versus Takanori Gomi Fight in UFC…

Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) and Nate Diaz (10-5) will rematch an The Ultimate Fighter 5 exhbition match tonight at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Read More About UFC’s Gray Maynard Deserves Title Shot With Win Over Nate Diaz – Fighters.com January Lightweight Rankings…

A matchup between Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) and tenth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) has been rescheduled for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi April 10, according to Tatame.

Read More About UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi: Anderson Silva Versus Vitor Belfort, And BJ Penn…

The main event of UFC Fight Night 20 on January 11 is Fighters.com fifth-ranked lightweight “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) versus Nate Diaz (10-5) in a battle for title contention. Many questions will be answered in this fight about these two fighters who are both searching for that title shot against Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion ”Prodigy” B.J. Penn (15-5-1).

Read More About UFC Fight Night 20 Preview: Gray Maynard is a Stronger Fighter than Nate Diaz…

Former PRIDE lightweight champ “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) and featherweight “Moon Wolf” Rumina Sato (26-12-2) are confirmed in separate bouts for Vale Tudo Japan ‘09 in Tokyo October 30, Sherdog reported Tuesday.

Gomi will try to further his climb back from his first two consecutive loss slide since 2003.  At Shooto Tradition Final in Tokyo last May, he broke the streak with a second round KO of Takashi Nakakura (10-2-1).  According to Sherdog, VTJ ‘09 promoter Kazuhiro Sakamoto (12-4) hinted that Gomi could face a UFC fighter in October, revealing Sakamoto has contacted Zuffa, LLC, parent company of the UFC and WEC, about exchanging fighters.

Read More About Takanori Gomi, Sato, Inoue v Nogueira Confirmed for Vale Tudo Japan ‘09…

Former PRIDE Lightweight Champion “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) will fight “Tractor” Rafaello Oliveira (8-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

Once considered one of MMA’s premier lightweights, Gomi is one win removed from a two-fight losing streak, beginning with a split decision loss to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) in Sengoku last November and continuing through a tapout by ankle lock to Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) in an undeserved Sengoku lightweight title fight in January. In May, Gomi notched one in the win column in Tokyo with a knockout of Takashi Nakakura (10-2) in Shooto.

“Tractor” is on a three-fight win streak, most recently scoring a UD over John Mahlow (12-10) at XFC 8 in Knoxville in April.

The fight will round out the Trilogy’s pay-per-view card.

While it had been previously announced that Sengoku 7 would feature “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-4) versus the Lightweight Grand Prix winner, and “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (21-8-2) versus the Middleweight GP winner, World Victory Road made it official Friday.

Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight Gomi will face Satoru Kitaoka (21-9-7), and ninth-ranked middleweight Misaki will face Jorge Santiago (18-7).  The first-ever WVR titles in both weight classes will be on the line.

Heavyweight Hidehiko Yoshida (8-6-1) is also on the card.

Gomi will fight for the belt despite losing his last fight versus Red Devil Sports Club’s Sergey Golyaev (8-5) 1 November at Sengoku 6 via split decision.

Kitaoka won the lightweight tournament at the same event by submitting sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) with a first-round heel hook, then defeating Kazunori Yokota (7-1-2) via unanimous decision.

Misaki last fought in September at Strikeforce versus “Diesel” Joe Riggs (28-10).  Riggs was felled via TKO in round two.

Santiago submitted Siyar Bahadurzada (9-3-1) via first-round heel hook and TKO’d  Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8) in round three to win the middleweight tournament at Sengoku 6.

Yoshida submitted “Mo” Maurice Smith (13-13) by neck crank at Sengoku 3 in June.