January 5, 2010, at 3:56 pm
There were one hundred reasons that I was happy when the UFC signed Japanese MMA legend Takanori Gomi. It shows that the UFC is still interested in signing the best talent in the world, even during a time when the lightweight division is so full of talent that it’s busting at the seems.
Then, when I heard the rumor that Florian v. Gomi seems to be ready to happen, my mind was blown. Everything I thought I knew before this announcement no longer makes any sense.
Here’s the main reason: The consensus amongst the MMA internet community seems to be that this fight is going to lead to a title match for someone. That sounds fine and good on the surface, because Gomi is a legend, and Florian is arguably the second best lightweight the UFC has. However, when you look a little deeper, you realize that neither of these fighters are deserving of title fights. Florian was just smashed by Penn. I don’t care if some of the judges thought that Kenny won some rounds. He didn’t. He was dominated. You are going to put him up against Penn again? I’m a huge Kenny Florian fan, and not even I want to see that.
As for Gomi, we aren’t getting “The Fireball Kid” in his prime. He’s 4-2 in his last six fights. He’s getting up there in fight age, as he’s just 31, but has been fighting since 98. You have to wonder how he is going to fare against the best lightweight fighters in their primes.
More than anything, it annoys me because there are guys in the lightweight division who deserve the shot. Next Monday, Gray Maynard will defeat Nate Diaz. When he does that, he will have a serious case that he deserves to be the next guy to take on Penn. While Penn has amazing takedown defense, Maynard may be the best wrestler in the UFC, or at least the best non-French Canadian wrestler. If anyone can take him down, it’s Maynard.
Frankie Edgar has been a good solider for quite awhile now. He’s piled up wins over Jim Miller (The first fight I ever attended), Spencer Fisher, Hermes Franca and Sean Sherk. Now, he should start to be angry enough at the UFC that he starts demanding things. Like the title shot he rightfully deserves. However, the problem is that he has a loss to Maynard on his record. That may put him second in line.
Overall, I’m a fan of equality and fairness. While Florian may be second best fighter in the division, he had his shot. While Gomi is a legend, he’s the new kid on the block that has to prove himself in the UFC. Not to mention that he might be passes his prime. Not to mention there are at least two contenders that have the track records to deserve title shots.
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