UFC bout: Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
Odds: ( Guida / Gomi )
Betting Pick: Gomi
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In the second bout of the televised card, former PRIDE champion Takanori Gomi faces a stiff challenge in dynamic wrestler Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. Gomi has serious knockout power and underrated wrestling, but Guida’s dominant wrestling and relentless pace are notoriously difficult for opponents to deal with, so this should be a competitive and exciting bout.
Guida, best known for his shaggy mane of hair and the breakneck pace of his fights, is one of the more exciting and dynamic wrestlers in the sport. His standup is neither technical nor powerful, but he can put opponents off their game with volume of punching. Still, his best work clearly comes in the wrestling, where he is relentless and effective. There is no question that it would be a huge mistake for him to try and stand with Gomi for any significant amount of time, so he is going to have be even more aggressive than usual with getting this fight to the ground if he wants to escape with a win.
Gomi, who dominated PRIDE’s lightweight division for years, has a ridiculous highlight reel of vicious knockouts on his resume. His power punching is so spectacular that a lot of times people forget that he also has very underrated wrestling and can work effectively from top position as well. Still, against Guida, there is very little chance that he will successfully use his wrestling offensively. Instead he will have to try to use his skills to keep this fight upright, where he will blast Guida with ease. Keeping a fight with Guida upright, though, is nowhere near as simple as it sounds.
I think that this is a good fight for Gomi. Guida is clearly the better wrestler, but Gomi is not totally helpless and has pretty good takedown defense whereas Guida has absolutely nothing for Gomi on the feet. I think Gomi will make Guida pay for his lack of boxing defense and take this one by T/KO.
Prediction: Takanori Gomi via second round T/KO.
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