B/R Road Report: Florian, Gomi Look For Redemption at UFC Fight Night 21

To some, a third shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship for Kenny Florian would be frowned upon. After losing both by relatively lopsided margins, Florian has had the chance two times that many fighters never get once.

But if you listen to Florian, the beating he took at the hands of BJ Penn last August at UFC 101 taught him everything he needs to know for the rest of his career.

With a win over the Octagon-debuting Takanori Gomi this Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 21, Florian will find himself once again at knocking at the door that has yet to open: the championship kind.

But he’s got to get through one of the best Japanese lightweights in recent memory to do it.

EVEN-FLO

Standing next to Kenny Florian, you don’t picture him as the type of guy who could leave you gushing blood thanks to a razor-sharp elbow.

The former Boston College soccer player and ESPN MMA Live co-host is looking once again to get to the top of the mountain and another dance for the Lightweight Championship.

“I still have intentions of being a champion in this sport,” the 12-4 Florian said. “As soon as you settle and say, “Well, I’m just going to go out there for a paycheck,” it’s hard to get motivated for that. I’m very passionate about the sport. As soon as that dies, it’ll probably be time for me to retire.”

A product of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter , Florian has spent nearly his entire career in the Octagon. After being noticed at a local event in Massachusetts when the UFC was scouting his opponent Drew Fickett instead, Florian was invited to try out for the first season of TUF. He lost in the finals to Diego Sanchez, but has made the UFC his home ever since.

At just 5-2, Florian got a shot at the then-vacant Lightweight Championship as he battled Sean Sherk at UFC 64. He lost a unanimous decision that night and it took nearly three years for him to get back to that level, reeling off six straight wins and a date with BJ Penn at last August’s UFC 101.

That night, Florian got run over by Penn, losing via rear naked choke in the fourth round in a near-suffocating performance. It was a serious blow to Florian as many questioned whether he was championship material. It could have been career-damaging, but Florian said it was a blessing in disguise.

“After the Penn fight, I found a new meaning for my training. I realized there’s so much more for me to learn,” he explained. “My training had got a little stale at one point and I felt like I was going through the motions. Now having my coaches evolving and trying to teach me new things…it’s very exciting.”

Florian first learned of the Gomi fight through some of his cohorts at MMA Live who had heard rumblings the two were set to be paired up. Florian was immediately excited as he was happy the UFC was able to acquire Gomi in the first place.

But despite any trepidation some may have about the UFC version of Gomi that debuts against him, Florian is preparing for what he considers one of the most dangerous opponents in his career.

“It’s a real treat for hardcore MMA fans who have been around. I know in my head who I’m facing. People are going to see how skilled he is, win or lose. As soon as you see a record like that with his credentials, it’s hard to ignore him,” Florian explained.

Unknown But Known

Gomi comes into this fight as a relative unknown to mainstream fans, but has the background and skillset to be debuting on a PPV card, not a free event on Spike TV.

The 31-year-old Japanese star comes into Wednesday night with a 31-5 record, having competed professionally since November 1999 for Shooto, PRIDE and more recently, World Victory Road.

After just 10 fights, Gomi won the Shooto Welterweight Championship.  He moved to PRIDE in February 2004 and reeled off 10 straight wins, earning the PRIDE Lightweight Championship. After a successful first round TKO of Mitsuhiro Ishida in December 2006, things started to turn south.

It began with a second round submission loss to Nick Diaz, later changed to a no-contest when Diaz failed a drug test. After two straight wins in WVR, Gomi lost back-to-back fights for the second time in his career, one of which a major MMA site called their upset of the year.

Now Gomi finds himself in a new territory: the UFC. The man who was so dominant for so long in front of tens of thousands of Japanese fans will make his Octagon debut Wednesday in NASCAR country at a venue named after a regional fast food chain.

Times may have changed, but Gomi is hoping to turn back the clock on his fighting career.

“Fighting in the UFC means many people will recognize me,” Gomi said through an interpreter. “That’s why I want to fight in the UFC.”

When asked about his thoughts on Florian going into Wednesday, Gomi admitted he doesn’t know a ton about his opponent.

“I don’t have any impressions (about Kenny). I’ve never met him before,” Gomi said. “All the UFC fighters look so strong.”

Florian noted that Gomi’s recent issues may simply come from motivation issues and that certain opponents just didn’t excite Gomi enough to really crank up the intensity meter.

“I think he’s got that motivation now being in the UFC. He’s got a new challenge and he’s very much motivated to train hard and get the belt. For me, I expect to see the best Takannori Gomi we’ve ever seen. I’m looking forward to it,” Florian said.

Gomi essentially agreed, joking that he was “lazy” in recent years and thinks that when he goes to the cage, he “will be dedicated to fight and show explosion.” He added he doesn’t like to get booed, which should endear himself to the new audience should he follow up on his words.

What The Outcome Could Mean

With Penn simply outclassing every opponent he comes in contact with, there is a lack of serious contenders to the 155-pound crown right now. The addition of Gomi adds an interesting new name to that mix and the two have done battle before, a third round submission win by Penn in October 2003.

With a win, Florian could make a case he is right back in the title hunt and he’d be justified in doing so with back-to-back wins over Clay Guida and Gomi. But fans might need a bit more convincing that Florian could pose a real threat to Penn so how Florian comes out looking Wednesday is important.

One would think that in the event he defeats Gomi, one more impressive win would be required to earn a title shot.

For Gomi, a big win over Florian could easily punch his ticket for a shot at Penn later on this summer. He’s got the background and street cred with hardcore fans, but there is still that ‘Who is this?’ factor with many of the mainstreamers who make up a lot of PPV buys.

If Gomi can win convincingly, I could see a Penn/Gomi tilt co-main eventing the August Boston show as it’s probably not strong enough to carry a PPV on its own.

Both guys have a lot on the line Wednesday night, the least of which is redemption for past failure.

Monday: Observations From Media Day

Josh Nason is a freelance MMA writer who has contributed to Bleacher Report, FIGHT! Magazine, MMA Madness.com, and others. He is in Charlotte, NC, all week for UFC Fight Night 21 and will be posting new stories every day leading up to the event.

Follow him on Twitter: @joshnason.