After taking pot shots at newbie fans who are completely unaware about the accomplishments of Takanori Gomi (the Japanese dude that’s fighting Kenny Florian tomorrow night), we were quick to concede that “The Fireball Kid” hasn’t exactly been a world beater lately (he wasn’t even able to be a Sergey Golaev beater in November, 2008). In other words, although any true MMA fan should hang their head in shame if they don’t know about Gomi’s glory days, the internet certainly hasn’t been riddled with fantastic tales about the lightweight over the last year or so.
So what happened to Gomi you may be asking? Good question. This is a guy that after losing to BJ Penn in 2003, won 13 of his next 15 fights, several of which came against highly regarded opponents. It was a time when Gomi could tell anyone with a straight face that ‘I’m a pretty big deal.’ Well, in a report from MMA Junkie, Gomi offered this statement when asked about his recent decline.
“I’m lazy,” Gomi admitted with a laugh. “It was hard to stay motivated for fighting for so many years. I knew I should have trained more before the fights. But when I go to the ring now, I want to show an explosive fight.
Well at least he’s being honest. It also sounds like he understands that laziness and fighting in the UFC doesn’t usually lead to success. To bet on tomorrow’s tilt head here.