Takanori Gomi’s long overdue debut in the UFC did not go as planned at Ultimate Fight Night 21, as former lightweight top contender spoiled the former Pride lightweight champion’s evening with a dominant performance.
From the opening bell, Gomi fell behind on the scorecards, failing to do anything to prevent Florian’s long lead jab. The first round bell sounded and Gomi strolled back to his corner in a whole. The story continued for the second round, as “The Fireball Kid” failed to land anything significant with the constant pressure of Florian’s jab.
Down two rounds, Gomi needed a finish to secure the victory, but he was not the one finishing the fight. After more of the same for the first several minutes of the round, Florian moved to Gomi’s back and almost immediately slid in a rear naked choke, provoking a necessary tap by Gomi. The victory is Florian’s second in a row since losing to BJ Penn via rear naked choke at UFC 107.
However, Florian was not the only “Ultimate Fighter” alum to represent on the card, as season 10 “Ultimate Fighter” Roy Nelson took on lanky heavyweight Stefan Struve. The fight was slated for three rounds of action, but the big-bellied Nelson needed just 38 seconds of the first round, landing a big shot, followed by some heavy ground and pound to force the stoppage. Struve may have been a tall order standing at 6’11”, but “Big Country” handled him pretty easily to gain a spot on the growing list of heavyweight contenders.
In earlier action, Nate Quarry took on Jorge Rivera in a middleweight match up that ended up being quite the one-sided fight. From the opening bell, Rivera brought it to “The Rock” with a tactical, yet devastating pace. Quarry barely survived the first round after being dropped twice and could not recover after being dropped in the second round. Rivera moved in for the kill and only needed a bit of ground and pound to force the official to step in.
Opening up the live broadcast, the winner of season nine of “The Ultimate Fighter” Ross Pearson faced off against Dennis Siver. Like several of the other bouts featured on SpikeTV, this one was fairly one-sided as well. Pearson had Siver timed perfectly and utilized superior boxing that left his opponent helpless on the feet. “The Real Deal” did not get the stoppage, but he ran away with a dominant unanimous decision victory.
