A lightweight bout between Joe Stevenson (31-11 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Takaonori Gomi (31-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is possible but not set for UFC on Versus 2. Despite reports that the fight is a done deal, a source close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that bout agreements have not been distributed and that verbal agreements are not necessarily in place for both fighters. If signed, the fight will grace the main card of the Versus-televised card, which is expected for Aug. 1 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The Utah Athletic Commission earlier this week gave the green-light for the UFC to hold the event, and a formal announcement is expected from the organization shortly. Heavy.com first reported the possibility of the match-up earlier today. Despite a three-round battle, Stevenson lost a ground war against Australian George Sotiropoulos and fell short on points in his most recent performance at UFC 110. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak against standouts Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher and put "The Ultimate Fighter 2" veteran back on the road to redemption. Prior to his February setback, Stevenson had been bested only by B.J. Penn, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. Gomi, meanwhile, met disappointment in his octagon debut this past month against Florian. The former PRIDE lightweight champion met a hail of jabs from the two-time lightweight contender and was unable to land any significant punches en route to a third-round submission loss. Stevenson wins via Guillotine choke. Gomi wont win a single fight in the UFC. Expect his stay to be very brief. Matter of fact im not entirely sure why Dana signed him? Espcially after all this time?
Gomi's reflexes look shot and the guy doesnt have very little left expect for punching power. Joe will come in shape and add yet another chokeout loss to Gomi. Very sad its came to this and now people will think Gomi was a bum.
Gomi really looked lost against Florian. He'll do better against Stevenson, but I don't see what he'll do to win.
Stevenson is pretty crap on the feet.. and his takedowns aren't all that great either. This is a gimme for Gomi.. That said.. i don't know if any fight is a gimme for Gomi these days. I'm not sure Gomi was ever that great anyway. Mostly a can crusher.
u really don't know **** about MMA if u say that. Gomi has one of the most impressive list of lightweight wins out there. THat said, Stevenson via L&P
In todays mma.. compared to whats going on in the UFC.. those guys are cans. The only impressive name on that list is Sakurai. Seriously.. do you think any of those guys could hang with a modern top 10-15 lightweight? Only Sakurai has the skillset to be top 10... and he doesnt seem interested in cutting weight. He's starting to go downhill anyway.
What top 10 list are you working off of? Most lists I've seen have Kawajiri on them and also guys like Gilbert Melendez, whom Ishida beat. Pulver in his prime was a beast being the first one to hand BJ Penn a loss. Azevedo is a handful for anyone and Sato is a legend in japanese MMA. Certainly not cans and your assertion that none of them could hang with a modern day contender is bull**** and baseless.
I'm sorry.. but its been proven over and over again that japan is the b leagues. All of them beating eachother up means nothing. It was just proven again with Aoki. A guy like Gray Maynard would destroy everyone on that list. Every ranking out there is wacked out of its mind.
No chance demzor, you can't just go around spouting bs without backing it up. Styles make fights, not what country the fighters generally fight in. To think otherwise is a ****ing joke. For the record, I believe Kawajiri with his wrestling and kick boxing skills would pose a serious threat to Gray.
