Gomi predicts KO in the 1st, Florian looking forward to him trying
Kenny Florian has been fighting professionally for seven years and has been stopped in the first round only once —…
Kenny Florian has been fighting professionally for seven years and has been stopped in the first round only once — a 2005 TKO against Diego Sanchez in his UFC debut.
Since then Florian has proven to be a difficult opponent to finish. In his only two losses since the Sanchez fight, both in bouts for the lightweight title, he has lasted long. Florian went the distance with Sean Sherk in ’06, losing a decision, and went four rounds with Penn last August before being submitted.
So when Takanori Gomi told Japanese MMA magazine Kampiro that he would beat Florian by knockout in the first round when they meet on Spike TV’s Fight Night 21 on March 31, it’s wasn’t surprising that the Dover native took issue.
I think he will find out very quickly that that’s going to be a very difficult thing to do, Florian said. I didn’t get to where I am by getting beat in the first round and I’m looking forward to seeing if that’s going to come true. Gomi is a tough guy. He was the best in the world for a long time.
Gomi has spent the majority of his career in his native Japan fighting for the now defunct Pride organization. He was crowned the Pride 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix champion and was awarded the lightweight belt soon after. From ’04-05, Gomi won eight straight fights and was named Sherdog’s 2005 Fighter of the Year.
Gomi signed with the UFC last month and enters the organization at a pivotal point in his career. He’s 2-2 in his last four fights and is trying to get back to the top of the lightweight ranks.
Obviously Gomi has to have confidence and he’s probably felt a little bit of pressure so he made a big prediction, said Keith Florian, Kenny’s brother and trainer. That’s probably why he said it, but whether he is able to do it is the question at hand. Hopefully we can prevent him from doing that and come away with a big win.
