I can never bet against my boy Gomi again after his last fight (man I really thought Ishida would have a good chance...).
Nick Diaz is an exciting young fighter and I like watching him. He's got good BJJ and sloppy stand up. I hope he doesn't get too cocky in his striking after his KO of "Ruthless" Robbie because standing with "Gomi would be a
big mistake. Nick has 3 things going for him in this fight:
1) A good 4" of reach advantage. It could help him stay out of danger range and score a few strikes while he waits for an opportunity for a takedown.
2) He's the bigger man.
3) If he can get Gomi on his back it could be all over. Gomi has shown weakness from this position and is prone to giving up his back. The fact that Nick is the bigger man should help this too.
On the flip-side:
1) Gomi performs at a high level far more consistently. There's a reason why he's a champion.
2) "The Fireball Kid" has bombs in his hands and they may go off at any moment. When you fight against Gomi, the fight may end at any moment. While technically that may be true of anybody as anyone can get a flash knockout, Gomi wields his fists with great precision and control. Not only that, he works combos and sets things up for later in the fight. When Gomi knocks people out, it's in no way a fluke.
3) The kid can wrestle. Before he went ahead and opened everybody's eyes by destroying the chins of "Lil Evil" and Luiz Azeredo, Gomi was known as mainly a wrestler with good striking skills. If it goes to the ground and Gomi winds up on top, I believe he can hold his own and work some GnP, though a wise move would be to back out and stand up. It's off his back that he's vulnerable the most.
This is a non-title fight (*sigh*) so Gomi can be all out aggressive if he chooses. Also he's been looking forward to fighting in the US for a long time so I'm sure he'll want to impress the audience.
Gomi
Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz
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