Kenny Florian vs Takanori Gomi Fight Prediction – Fight Night 21
KENNY FLORIAN vs. TAKANORI GOMI
Fight Overview: Former title challenger Kenny Florian takes on Japanese legend Takanori Gomi in a big fight for the future of the Lightweight division. A win for Florian further cements him as the division’s #2 fighter behind BJ Penn, while a win for Gomi could pay immediate dividends in the form of a title shot.
Gomi’s Strengths: Gomi has excellent boxing and a lot of punching power. His punches also tend to come at weird angles which are hard for his opponent to figure out. His submission defense and wrestling are also solid.
Gomi’s Weaknesses: He is sometimes too aggressive, and has definitely lost a step or two from his prime. Offensively, his ground game is not that great.
Florian’s Strengths: He has great jiu-jitsu, great Muay Thai, great elbow strikes, and constantly improving wrestling.
Florian’s Weaknesses: Florian has shown an ability to deal with most styles of fighters, but guys who are as well-rounded as he is give him problems. He also likes to control the pace of fights and can get taken off his game.
The Verdict: Gomi was once a dominant figure, and is still a stern test for anyone, but Florian is too good at too many things. Gomi lacks the kind of dynamic wrestling you would need to control Florian with takedowns, and while his striking is still powerful, so is Florian’s, and Florian has a better chance of clinching up and controlling the action from that position than Gomi. I expect a highly competitive fight, but Florian should do enough to earn the decision nod.
Fight Prediction: Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian by unanimous decision.
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