155 lbs. Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi (30-5) vs Rafaello “The Tractor” Oliveira (8-1)
Fight Odds: ( Gomi -600 / Oliveira +400)
Prediction: Oliveira may well have a bright future, but for this fight he is pretty much a training dummy for Gomi to show off his skills on to a new market. Gomi by KO, Round 1.
The opening bout of the evening sees the highly-anticipated return to America of former PRIDE Champion and concensus #1 Lightweight Takanori Gomi, who will be squaring off with Rafaello Oliveira.
Gomi, once the clear pinnacle of the Lightweight division, has seen his stock plummet precipitously over the last few years, so an impressive win here is pretty much necessary if he ever wants to be considered a top 155 pounder again. Oliveira, for his part, has showed a lot of promise in his young career, but Gomi is a massive step up in competition, so a win could catapult him into the world spotlight.
Oliveira is a relative unknown with a well-rounded skillset who has put together an impressive 8-1 record, albeit against equally unknown competition. Training out of the largely unheard of Premier Martial Arts camp in Knoxville, Tennessee, and having never fought on a prominent show, Oliveira is a huge question mark to most fight fans and pundits. His most high-profile appearance thusfar in his career was on the ShoXC Challenger Series, where he got his first and only taste of defeat at the hands of Lyle Beerbohm. Oliveria’s lack of top-level experience is troubling, to say the least, considering how dangerous Gomi still is. The only explanation for this matchup is that Affliction needed a sacrifical lamb to introduce Gomi to their fanbase, many of whom may not be aware of his string of stellar performances in PRIDE.
For a while, Gomi was one of the most dominant fighters in any organization or weight class in the world. After dropping back to back losses to BJ Penn and Joachim Hansen, both Top 5 Lightweights at the time, Gomi signed with PRIDE FC, and a legend was born. For roughly 2 years, Gomi blasted top opposition one after another at a ridiculous pace while cementing his spot as the world’s top 155 pound fighter.
After losses to Marcus Aurelio and Nick Diaz, plus PRIDE’s closing, Gomi’s stock fell quick and hard. He has dropped two of his last 3 fights, to mid-level competitors Satoru Kitoaka and Sergey Golayev. In his last fight at SHOOTO’s anniversary show, though, he showed flashes of his old brilliance in knocking out tough striker Takashi Nakahara.
Regardless of whether the Nakahara win signals a rebirth of the dominant Gomi of old, the legendary “Fireball Kid” has more than enough left in his tank to handle the likes of Oliveira. Chances are that Gomi will show up to this fight being better at every conceivable area of the fight game.
Oliveira may well have a bright future, but for this fight he is pretty much a training dummy for Gomi to show off his skills on to a new market. Gomi by KO, Round 1.
