After his first defeat in the Octagon, new UFC acquisition, Takanori Gomi, reflected on his performance against Kenny Florian at Fight Night 21. Going into the bout, questions lingered regarding which Gomi would be making his UFC debut: the aggressive knockout artist who dominated the Pride Lightweight division or the passive, almost bored fighter that befuddled fans during his last few appearances.

On his performance during the Florian fight:

“Damn it is frustrating. I was moving pretty well, constantly applying pressure. It was an utter defeat. There are a lot of things I need to improve.”

On his goals in the UFC:

“I want to acclimate myself to the Octagon a little bit more and get myself into the groove. I will continue my challenge (in UFC) as long as I am physically capable. I won’t make any excuses but everything will eventually fall into its place. I struck out on my first at-bat, so I will strive to get a hit next time around.”

Gomi believes that the loss is simply par for the course. Making the transition to the UFC has proven difficult for many fighters.

“The major league (UFC) is no joke, and Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop also faced hardship.”

Will the true “Fireball Kid” show up in his next fight or is this the beginning of the end for Gomi? Who will the UFC match him up with next? Perhaps an all out brawl with Sam Stout or Melvin Guillard can remind fans of why Gomi was once considered the best Lightweight fighter in the world.

(source: MMA Mania)