Preview: UFC Fight Night 117 ‘St. Preux vs. Okami’

Lightweights

Takanori Gomi (35-13) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (14-8-3)

Gomi is one of the greatest lightweights in MMA history and at his height was one of the most thrilling fighters you could ever see. However, “The Fireball Kid” turns 39 years old on fight day and he is a rightful +330 underdog, as we are eight years removed from the last vestiges of his prime. That fire is further reduced to smoldering with every fight.

The constituent problem is that the best incarnations of Gomi were reliant on his physical gifts. The Shooto legend was never an awesome submission grappler, but his strong wrestling base and athleticism typically insulated him. Though he developed a brilliant boxing game, it was always buttressed by his incredible chin, allowing him to follow through with his extended body-head combos while no-selling his opponent’s would-be counters. All of that is now gone. Three years ago, he was knocked out for the first time -- by Myles Jury of all people -- and it only took 92 seconds. Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller each subsequently knocked him out in less than three minutes. In his last bout in June, he lasted all of 72 seconds before being choked out by Jon Tuck, a fighter he would have positively massacred eight years ago. Seeing an out-of-sorts Gomi give up position and get tapped is nothing new; it is how the majority of the losses in his prime happened. However, watching a largely anonymous Tuck do the deed against a completely disinterested, dilapidated Gomi in barely a minute was beyond pitiable.

Kim fights like a crude stereotype of South Korean MMA fighters, bombarding his opponents with piss, vinegar and punches, ragdolling them to the mat when he can and dishing out heavy ground-and-pound. It is perfectly indicative of his style and ethos that his breakthrough performance came 15 months ago against Marco Polo Reyes, an insane brawl in which he was ultimately knocked out in the third round. There is nothing especially technical and certainly nothing “advanced” about Kim’s game. “Maestro” comes forward, he swings, he eats shots and he swings again.

Years ago, Kim would have been a thrilling tune-up opponent for Gomi, who would pump his jab, explode out of his crouched stance and rip the Korean with a left hook to the body and then that massive right. In 2017, Gomi will need to summon whatever competitive fumes he has to fuel one big right, his only realistic chance in this bout. Unfortunately, even if Gomi is one of the best candidates you could ask for to capitalize on the fabled “puncher’s chance,” the last time we saw anything resembling that is when he corked Tyson Griffin in 64 seconds over seven years ago.

Gomi was notoriously unfocused and often uninspired at points during his height, so I cannot imagine how lackadaisical his process is at this point. This bout will not be pretty. In the same building that he destroyed Hayato “Mach” Sakurai on New Year’s Eve to win the Pride Fighting Championships lightweight title in 2005, “The Fireball Kid” will succumb to another grim reminder of middle age. Kim swarms him, storms him and flails about until Gomi goes down once again, likely ending his UFC run. If this was a just sport, he would hang up the gloves for good.

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