UFC Quick Quote: Takanori Gomi wants to end his career on the biggest stage in the world

"I didn't want to end my career without fighting on the biggest stage in the world. I welcome any challenge that ignites me. My challenge right now is to become the UFC champion. Honestly, I have reached the age at which I hit my physical peak. My training at American Kickboxing Academy has has served as a great motivation to transform my career. Needless to say, BJ Penn is a high caliber fighter, but so is everyone else in UFC. There is much to learn from BJ's fighting spirit. To tell you the truth, he is a fighter whom I am aiming for. My immediate goal is to establish myself as a UFC fighter and continue fighting in front of the American fans. At this age, I have to train harder than ever. As long as I manage to do so, I just need to look up and continue my ascent. I want to fight at age 60, just like Eikichi Yazawwa (Japanese rock n' roll demigod). The only qualm I have about fighting in America is that my mom will grouse about not being able to come to my fights. Younger fighters will vitalize MMA in Japan -- like Satoshi Ishii. I want to enthrall the fans the world over. They can picture Manny Pacquiao. I will constantly storm ahead with a flurry of strikes."

In a recent interview with UFC.com, former PRIDE lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi voices his ambition in the wake of his recent signing with UFC. Questions linger as to whether he can restore the same winning ways that had catapulted him to the top of the lightweight hierarchy in PRIDE, Nonetheless, the new challenge that awaits him in UFC's stacked lightweight division, as well as his recent training at American Kickboxing, may provide the much-needed fuel to set the smoldering "Fireball Kid" ablaze.