A lightweight battle, that is sure to have fans on their feet come New Year’s Day, between Clay Guida (27-11) versus “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (32-6) is all but official for UFC 125. “The Carpenter” made the announcement over the weekend during a segment of MMA Tonight on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.
“One of my favorite fighters growing up watching MMA. I look up to him, and I’m going to look forward to picking him up off the ground after I ground and pound him into the canvas.”
Guida has won his last two bouts, jumping back from back-to-back losses. His last appearance was at UFC 117 against Rafael dos Anjos, where he earned a submission win over the Brazilian due to a jaw injury. He also submitted Shannon Gugerty at March’s UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones event by sinking in an arm triangle choke in the second round of their fight, that choke also earned Guida the Submission of the Night honor. His two previous losses were to Kenny Florian at UFC 107 and to Diego Sanchez at the TUF 9 Finale.
Gomi is sitting on a 1-1 record since debuting with the UFC in March of this year. The Japanese fighter was submitted by Kenny Florian at the UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi event, but bounced back with a spectacular knock out over Tyson Griffin at last Augusts UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko event. “The Fireball Kid” is 3-1 in his past four matches, having defeated Tony Hervey and Takashi Nakakura in other Japanese events previous to his UFC debut.
UFC 125 is set for Jan. 1st at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
HT: MMAFighting.com for the Guida quote.