Kenny Florian Vs. Takanori Gomi at “UFC Fight Night 21″

This article originally appeared on MMA website, 5thRound.com

It is being reported that former lightweight top contender Kenny Florian will indeed roll out the welcome wagon for Japanese sensation Takanori Gomi at “UFC Fight Night 21” on March 31st.

Although this bout had been rumored since the world’s biggest MMA organization signed Gomi earlier this year, nothing had been confirmed until Thursday morning when MMALive, Florian’s other employer, Tweeted their client’s upcoming schedule.

Gomi owns an impressive 31-5 record, but has struggled to find consistency since PrideFC’s demise. His exciting style and success made him a fan-favorite overseas, with his most impressive performance coming in a magical scrap against former Shooto teammate Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at Pride Shockwave 2005.

Florian looked sensational in his last outing where he submitted an always-game Clay Guida in the 2ndRound of their UFC 107 contest. The win bumped his record to an impressive 12-4, with all but one of his W’s ending before the final bell.

The yet-to-be-announced Spike TV broadcast is expected to take place in North Carolina and will serve as a lead-in for “The Ultimate Fighter: 11″ debut immediately after.

Here are the other fighters rumored for the show:

Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner
Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera
Yushin Okami vs. Lucio Linhares
Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs. Stefan Struve
Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi

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