Just as the UFC of today isn’t Pride, UFN is far from being a South Park cartoon.
Indeed, Gomi is no longer the same. And Kenny isn’t dead.
In Kenny's 17 fights, 8 have ended with the rear-naked choke. Of those 8, only once was he on the receiving end, against BJ Penn. Photo from UFC 91, by Josh Hedges.
The main event at UFN 21, which took the best of MMA to North Carolina, featured American star of Peruvian descent Kenny Florian and Japanese former champion Takanori Gomi. The outcome was to be expected, given the lack of rhythm and consistency of the once-feared Gomi.
Both have lost to BJ Penn in the past and that might have suggested the fight would be evenly matched. But MMA is all about the moment. Kenny Florian sunk a rear-naked choke after getting the better of the standup exchange, and Gomi tapped. He submitted for the third time in his career.
Another of the evening’s standouts was Brazil’s Gleison Tibau, who confirmed he is on a roll after dispatching the durable Caol Uno.
Check out the complete results:
UFC Fight Night 21
March 31, 2010
Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Charlie Brenneman defeated Jason High via unanimous decision
Gerald Harris defeated Mario Mirando via technical knockout at 4:49 min of R1
Yushin Okami defeatedLucio Linhares via technical knockout at 2:47 min of R2
Gleison Tibau defeated Caol Uno via technical knockout at 4:13min of R1
Nik Lentz defeated Robert Emerson via unanimous decision
Jacob Volkmann defeated Ronys Torres via split decision
Andre Winner defeated Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision
Ross Pearson defeated Dennis Silver via unanimous decision
Jorge Rivera defeated Nate Quarry via technical knockout at 0:29min of R2
Roy Nelson defeated Stefan Struve at 0:39min
Kenny Florian submitted Takanori Gomi at 2:52min of R3