Tuesday’s weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi went off without a hitch, with all 22 fighters making weight.
The event, which will be held Wednesday at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C., will be shown live on Sportsnet (8 p.m. ET), and later followed by the premiere of Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter (check local listings). Sportsnet is the only place in Canada to watch both in high definition.
In the main event, Kenny (KenFlo) Florian hit the scale right at the limit at 156 pounds for his lightweight matchup against Takanori (Fireball Kid) Gomi, who weighed in at 155.
A veteran mixed martial artist from Japan, Gomi is making is UFC debut after 36 total fights in his pro career. A popular fighter in his home country with a gawdy record of 31-5, Gomi made his name in Shooto, Pride and most recently Sengoku.
While he is just one year removed from a two-fight losing streak, the 31-year-old has since won two straight and signed with the UFC in January.
“(I’ve) fought more than 30 times and (I’m) still looking for a challenge in (my) career,” Gomi said through a translator on a recent conference call. “That’s the main reason to move on to the U.S. (and the) UFC.”
Florian, meanwhile, is an experienced fighter in his own right, with 13 of his 16 pro fights taking place in the Octagon. In particular, he is no stranger to UFC Fight Nights.
This will be the fifth such show and the third with his name in the title as headliner. He previously beat Din Thomas and Joe Lauzon in a Fight Night main event.
Florian (12-4) says it’s always nice to have the spotlight and fight in front of a big audience. But to him it’s business as usual.
“You know, for me I just see it as just another fight,” Florian said on the same conference call. “Obviously it’s a big fight but every fight is a big fight. So, I’m just excited to go out there and compete, really.”
Florian, 33, first broke into the UFC by way of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. He was a contestant in the middleweight competition of the reality show and ended up qualifying for the final, where he lost the title bout to Diego Sanchez.
After earning a UFC contract, he dropped down to welterweight for two contests before going down again to 155 pounds, where he remains, and is considered by many as one of the top three or four lightweights in the world.
He has only lost two times since moving to that weight — his two defeats coming in five-round title bouts, first to Sean Sherk for the vacant belt in 2006, and later to champion B.J. Penn last August. Both fights went into the championship rounds.
Florian, who has trained recently under George St-Pierre’s team of Firas Zahabi and strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimberg, insists the losses had nothing to do with the extra rounds, nor any extra pressure fighting for a belt.
“You know it’s just at (those points) in my career, I feel that they were just the better guys,” Florian said. “I feel like I’m heading in the right path. So, I think I’m gaining those skills needed to face the elite of the elite and you know, well see what the future holds for me.”
A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Florian has earned six of his 10 wins in the Octagon by rear naked choke. He is prepared however to challenge Gomi, a southpaw striker who will be competing in a cage for the first time, wherever the fight goes.
“Gomi is very, very fast,” Florian said. “He has … knockout power in both of his hands.
“I think you always have to prepare for the worst-case scenario and that’s something I’ve been doing and been able to train with some very experienced and dangerous strikers in my sparring. … I’m prepared to go all 15 minutes standing if I need to; I think it will be a great fight, fight.”
In the co-main event, TUF 10 heavyweight winner Roy (Big Country) Nelson, who weighed in at a hefty 263 pounds, takes on the taller but relatively lighter Dutch fighter Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve.
Here are the full weigh-in results:
Main card:
Kenny Florian (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)
Roy Nelson (263) vs. Stefan Struve (248)
Nate Quarry (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (186)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Dennis Siver (156)
Preliminary fights:
Rafaello Oliveira (156) vs. Andre Winner (156)
Ronys Torres (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Nik Lentz (155) vs. Rob Emerson (154)
Gleison Tibau (156) vs. Caol Uno (156)
Lucio Linhares (184) vs. Yushin Okami (184)
Gerald Harris (186) vs. Mario Miranda (186)
Charlie Brenneman (170) vs. Jason High (170)
