"I want to fight BJ Penn again. He knows I’m the unique guy of this division able to knock him out. It would be the biggest champions fighting. Imagine how this match would be ... but it’s not close to coming true. I don’t want to talk over UFC ... Mr. Dana White is a great manager and I respect him but is a person hard to deal with. I’m not an art martial beginner, I am a MMA champion. What about him? What would he be?"
-- Former Pride FC lightweight deity Takanori Gomi talks to Tsutaya Online about his fighting future as he prepares for Tony Hervey at Vale Tudo Japan 2009 on Oct. 30. "The Fireball Kid" flirted with a stateside move a few years ago when Zuffa — the UFC parent company — purchased the Japan-based mixed martial arts promotion; however, he decided to stay loyal and close to home, competing in front of the fans who watched him ascend to stardom in the "Land of the Rising Sun." He was persuaded once again to fight on US soil until Affliction MMA collapsed and left him high and dry. Will he ever compete for the UFC? And if so, does he have any chance of avenging his 2003 submission loss to current lightweight champion BJ Penn?
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