Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos Added to UFC 144 in Japan


(Gomi Head approves of this matchup. Props: Dallas Winston.)

Takanori Gomi‘s run in the UFC has resulted in an underwhelming 1-3 record, marked by submission losses to Kenny Florian, Clay Guida, and Nate Diaz. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the UFC is giving the Fireball Kid one more try in front of his home country’s fans — or at least the ones who will be dragging ass to the Saitama Super Arena early enough to catch the prelims.

The UFC has confirmed that Gomi will return at UFC 144 on February 26th, against Aussie grappling specialist George Sotiropoulos, who’s also had a rough go of it lately. After going 7-0 in the Octagon following his stint on TUF 6, Sotiropoulos is now riding back-to-back losses against Dennis Siver and Rafael Dos Anjos. In other words, jobs could be on the line here.

Gomi vs. GSots brings the UFC 144 card up to 12 star-studded fights, including the lightweight title headliner between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson, and bouts featuring Quinton Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Jake Shields, Joe Lauzon, and Yushin Okami. Check out the current lineup after the jump, before injuries blow it all to hell.


(Gomi Head approves of this matchup. Props: Dallas Winston.)

Takanori Gomi‘s run in the UFC has resulted in an underwhelming 1-3 record, marked by submission losses to Kenny Florian, Clay Guida, and Nate Diaz. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the UFC is giving the Fireball Kid one more try in front of his home country’s fans — or at least the ones who will be dragging ass to the Saitama Super Arena early enough to catch the prelims.

The UFC has confirmed that Gomi will return at UFC 144 on February 26th, against Aussie grappling specialist George Sotiropoulos, who’s also had a rough go of it lately. After going 7-0 in the Octagon following his stint on TUF 6, Sotiropoulos is now riding back-to-back losses against Dennis Siver and Rafael Dos Anjos. In other words, jobs could be on the line here.

Gomi vs. GSots brings the UFC 144 card up to 12 star-studded fights, including the lightweight title headliner between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson, and bouts featuring Quinton Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Jake Shields, Joe Lauzon, and Yushin Okami. Check out the current lineup after the jump, before injuries blow it all to hell.

MAIN CARD
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (for lightweight championship)
Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader (LHW)
Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Hunt (HW)
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields (WW)
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon (LW)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch (MW)
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell (MW)
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee (BW)
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso (BW)
Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos (LW)
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski (FW)
Tiequan Zhang vs. Leonard Garcia (FW)