PRIDE FC Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi wants to fight one more time before the year is out. The only problem (for UFC fans, anyway) is that those plans do not include and eight-sided cage.
Instead, the Japanese star prefers to remain in the "Land of the Rising Sun" and compete in organizations such as Hero's, Shooto and even K-1, according to FightNetwork.com.
Here's a snip mash from Gomi:
"I want to fight – for myself, for the fans and for my gym. I want to show everyone that I'm working hard and moving quickly. I have to have another fight, or nothing will happen.... The fans should decide where I go. There is the possibility I will go to HERO'S. Shooto is a good organization, and I also have no reason not to fight in HERO'S. All organizations are fine with me. In the end, I want MMA to be as big as baseball."
Not surprisingly, Gomi has received offers to fight on behalf of numerous mixed martial arts promotions. One thing absent from this report, however, is whether or not he is still under contract to fight for PRIDE FC.
He states clearly that he wants to remain in Japan. And who can blame him, Gomi is treated like a rockstar over there. Not to mention, Hero's and Shooto have some of the very best lightweight fighters in the world.
We'll have to see how this situation unfolds, but for now, it doesn't look like "The Fireball Kid" is UFC-bound anytime soon.
In his last bout, Gomi was submitted by former UFC fighter Nick Diaz via gogoplata in one of the best fights of 2007. The decision, however, was later ruled a no contest after Diaz was popped for having marijuana in his system during the fight.
It was supposed to showcase Gomi in front of an American audience in front of a talented and well-known American fighter. Clearly, things didn't go as planned.
Gomi has talked in the past about a showdown with UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. The odds of that ever happening -- all things considered at the current time -- now seem to be very long.
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