Akihiro Gono vs Dan Hardy UFC 89 fight booked

by MMAmania.com on Jul 15, 2008 10:21 AM EDT

akihiro gono vs dan hardy
Akihiro Gono will return to action against Octagon newcomer, Dan Hardy, in a welterweight tilt set for UFC 89: "Leben vs. Bisping" at The National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, on October 18, according to CageWarriors.com.

Ghono was set to take on Jon Fitch at UFC 82: "Pride of a Champion" back in March; however, the Japanese showman has to withdraw from the bout because of a hand injury that required surgery to repair. In fact, Ghono has a history of hand injuries and needed time for it to mend otherwise it could have threatened his future fighting career.

He has one win in one attempt inside the Octagon -- a beautiful submission (armbar) of Tamdan McCrory back at UFC 78: "Validation" in November 2007.

Hardy — who is the reigning Cage Warriors welterweight champion — has won eight of his last nine bouts and the lone loss during that span was because of a disqualification. "The Outlaw" is considered to be the top British welterweight prospect. He is a Taekwondo black belt and "kickboxing expert" who has been competing in professional MMA since 2004.

Here's a snip from Hardy:

"I'm excited to be fighting such a tough, well-respected fighter for my debut as Gono. It shows that the UFC know I am capable of dealing with the top tier guys and I am very grateful for the opportunity to go in at this kind of level. Gono has been in there with some of the best fighters in the world and always put on a good show, he comes to fight and has very good counter-strikes and some interesting submissions. He is a perfect opponent for me to prove my place in the UFC welterweight division and give the fans a great show. Fighting so close to home will be good because all of the people that have supported me through my career will be able to be there for my debut in the UFC."

This is solid fight that pits a crafty veteran against a promising young star. It should be a good one.

The UFC 89 card is beginning to take shape with several intriguing bouts that include Michael Bisping, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves and others.

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Comments

Finally!!!!!!! MY BOY GONO is BACK!!! I love this guy! I cant wait to see him back in action.

Hardy is a very tough opponent and it should make for as a helluva fight! Hardy is a great addition to the welterweight division, but I cant bet against Gono! NEVER!!!

I have to be the president of the Akahiro Gono fan club! lol…Love that guy! THe UFC should let him do one of his INSANE Concert/entrances on his way to the Octagon!

Did I mention, that I love this GUY!!! Talk about your Man Crush!

WAR GONO!!!

by john on Jul 15, 2008 11:38 AM EDT reply actions

This will be great. Hardy is as tough as hell with alot of heart and talent. This will be a tough fight for both fighters and could go either way.

by MoonUK on Jul 15, 2008 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions

UFC 89 is turning out to be a great card:

Bisping vs. Leben
Sanchez vs. Alves
Hardy vs. Gono
Luis Cane vs. Sokoudjou

by john on Jul 15, 2008 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain added to UFC 89 as well

by john on Jul 15, 2008 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions

HEY JOHN you think the ufc is trying to make it up to us for the cluster f*** that was known as UFC 85? P.S im gonna stick with my boy HARDY

by icefish on Jul 15, 2008 12:08 PM EDT reply actions

Hopefully this British card doesnt suffer all that bad luck that UFC 85 did, or we will be looking at a main event of:

Blake Bowman vs. Ritchie hightower! lol GOD HELP US!

by john on Jul 15, 2008 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

i would have love too have seen that fitch/gono matchup. im glad he’s back.

by b.w on Jul 15, 2008 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

Hardy will kick Gono’s ass, guaranteed!

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 15, 2008 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

u r nuts! GONO is the real deal who has fought way better fighters than Hardy! I am a fan of Hardy, but when I hear stupid comments like that it makes me want to hate on him.

Either way, Hardy is a great addition to the welterweight division. Now all they need is Semtex and they will have a nice stable of British fighters!

by john on Jul 15, 2008 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Your boy is not ‘Gono’ win, sorry. You heard that here first.

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 15, 2008 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

luckily for Gono that dumb comment was made by you, which holds very little weight around here!

Go boycott Elite XC…looser!

by john on Jul 15, 2008 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Hardy first round by knockout. Then John will cry since his self proclaimed man crush has lost. How sad.

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 15, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

nice stable of british fighters maybe, but…. i jus wanna point out that they both from Nottingham, its fukin tough here, semtex is no joke, but Nottingham has a few more talented fighters than him or Hardy – i guarentee that MMA will have not only a stable of british fighters, but a stable of Nottingham fighters.

Hardy by Flying knee

by Insain on Jul 15, 2008 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Yoshiyuki Yoshida was destroying Hardy before the DQ, imo, however Gono doesn’t have the power Yoshida has, so the fight will probably go very differently.

by aa on Jul 15, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m glad to hear Gono will be back in action. This card is free on spike right?

by Chris W on Jul 15, 2008 2:45 PM EDT reply actions

One thing about Akihiro Gono is that he has fought middleweights (Henderson, Gegard Mousasi) and lightheavyweights (Shogun). Although he lost to to Henderson and Shogun, he should do well at WW, where he is not faced with a height, reach, and strength advantage as much. He probably won’t be WW champ, but he will be up there and is always exciting to watch.

by Chris W on Jul 15, 2008 2:49 PM EDT reply actions