Following first UFC win, Takanori Gomi admits he even doubted himself

SAN DIEGO – Despite Takanori Gomi's relatively young age of just 31, many MMA observers had already declared the Japanese superstar's career as an elite fighter over.

Five years removed from his vintage form in PRIDE's glory days, Gomi (32-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) looked downright sluggish in a March loss to Kenny Florian – "The Fireball Kid's" debut in the UFC.

But at Sunday night's UFC on Versus 2 event, Gomi needed just 64 seconds to silence the critics. Of course, if you were among those that counted Gomi out, fear not. He wasn't so sure either.

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id like to say that the old gomi is back as a longtime fan of his, but i think thats a bit hasty at this point. he did look fantastic throughout the fight though, and my fingers are crossed that he makes a big run up the ladder.

You can't really criticize him after a first round knockout off a tough guy like Tyson, but in some ways a one punch knockout can be misleading. What did the fight show us about Gomi? That he has knockout power and can land at least one good punch. Cool. We knew that.

It would have been more instructive if he had beat Tyson up for two rounds and then finished him.

Big win for gomi
I was schocked myself , glad he won cause a loss may have sealed his fate
I still am not sure he is back, curious to see who he fights next.
And for griffin he was very upset about the loss, maybe a mid tier fighter next for him

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Posted by bjj1605

You can't really criticize him after a first round knockout off a tough guy like Tyson, but in some ways a one punch knockout can be misleading. What did the fight show us about Gomi? That he has knockout power and can land at least one good punch. Cool. We knew that.

It would have been more instructive if he had beat Tyson up for two rounds and then finished him.

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Exactly, Tyson was dumb for going out there and trading with Gomis most dangerous strengh, flip of the coin. But he is definitely a talented fighter no doubt.

This was the most shocking win of the night, I loved it. Griffin shouldn't have traded with him, but at the same time, Griffin has never in his career been hit like that, nobody could have expected it. I don't know if Gomi is back, but it certainly was a statement.

Im kind of surprised so many people thought Griffin wasn't going to stand with Gomi. He always stand with people, i cant even picture a fight where he used a takedown.

Anyway, great win for Gomi. Id like to see him fight the winner of Stephens v. Guillard.

On the topic of Gomi- I was incredibly excited for him despite the fact that I picked Tyson. Gomi was classy and personally I felt like you could really tell he was relieved. The punch itself was huge and provided the kind of "out on his feet" KO we don't generally see but need to see more often at 155 lbs. I honestly believe the fall woke Griffin up from what would have been a long ass nap.

I was pretty bummed to see Tyson not handle the loss very well. I can understand to a point, but I think he was being pretty rude and I've always considered him a class act. I just hope he doesn't chalk this up to a bad decision on the ref's part and that he realizes he has holes to work on so he can continue to be one of the very best 155 lb'ers.

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Posted by Jackelope

I was pretty bummed to see Tyson not handle the loss very well. I can understand to a point, but I think he was being pretty rude and I've always considered him a class act. I just hope he doesn't chalk this up to a bad decision on the ref's part and that he realizes he has holes to work on so he can continue to be one of the very best 155 lb'ers.

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Honestly, most knockouts result in the person not having a memory, and you can see on the replay that Tyson was stumbling around while he was trying to protest, so I sincerely believe Tyson didn't know why the fight was stopped. He was OUT

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Posted by Caesarrrr

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Posted by Jackelope

I was pretty bummed to see Tyson not handle the loss very well. I can understand to a point, but I think he was being pretty rude and I've always considered him a class act. I just hope he doesn't chalk this up to a bad decision on the ref's part and that he realizes he has holes to work on so he can continue to be one of the very best 155 lb'ers.

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Honestly, most knockouts result in the person not having a memory, and you can see on the replay that Tyson was stumbling around while he was trying to protest, so I sincerely believe Tyson didn't know why the fight was stopped. He was OUT

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Yeah, that's exactly why I was saying what I said. I hope he watches the replay and sees it, then apologizes to Gomi for the way he acted. That's all I meant. If for nothing else just to prove he's a class act and to realize what really happened.

The fight went down how I figured it would.
Tyson had all the tools to beat Gomi but I kept thinking Griffin would slip up at a point and Gomi would capatilize.
Still leaves me wondering where Gomi will really fit in within the division.

I hope he sticks around for a long time though.

I have to say, I never watched very much pride so I don't know what Gomi looked like in his "Prime" but he definatly impressed me, stopping a guy like Tyson Griffin, a dude who has been in ALOT of wars, but never has been KO'd seems like Gomi hits like a Mac Truck. Though I think it is prudent to point out, his hands were down the whole fight and he leaves himself wide open when he loads up his punches. Seems to have a very simular style to Jeremy Stevens. I don't think Gomi has vaulted himself into top 10 status but I can see him being a main card staple playing in some fight of the night calibre fights. Gomi vs. Stephens or Gomi vs. Fisher or Gomi vs. Stout all have the potential of being barn burners.

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Posted by ace_of_god

I have to say, I never watched very much pride so I don't know what Gomi looked like in his "Prime" but he definatly impressed me, stopping a guy like Tyson Griffin, a dude who has been in ALOT of wars, but never has been KO'd seems like Gomi hits like a Mac Truck. Though I think it is prudent to point out, his hands were down the whole fight and he leaves himself wide open when he loads up his punches. Seems to have a very simular style to Jeremy Stevens. I don't think Gomi has vaulted himself into top 10 status but I can see him being a main card staple playing in some fight of the night calibre fights. Gomi vs. Stephens or Gomi vs. Fisher or Gomi vs. Stout all have the potential of being barn burners.

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Gomi definitely has been in some slugfests thanks to his penchant for throwing big strikes and leaving a little bit to be desired on the defensive end.

That being said, he's a much better fighter than Stephens because he combines his great striking with fantastic sprawls and he manages distance very well. Which is a form of defense in itself. (See: Yushin Okami who was on the same card) Probably one of the better forms of defense to be honest with you.

I don't expect Gomi to run through UFC competition on account of the fact that his career has kind of hit a slide and he isn't quite the same fighter he once was, but make no mistake back in the day he was absolutely world class competition. Still is, just not as highly ranked.