Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi Targeted For Ultimate Fight Night 21, March 31st

According to a tweet by ESPN's MMA Live crew, a lightweight match between perennial UFC lightweight contender Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian (12-4) and one-time, world-wide, divisional king Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi (31-5) has been targeted as the main event at Ultimate Fight Night 21. The event will air live from Charlotte, North Carolina on Spike TV and serves as a lead-in to the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 11 reality show, which features a cast of middleweights and will be coached by longtime rivals Chuck Liddell (21-7) and Tito Ortiz (15-7-1).

Both Florian and Gomi have fought well in losses to, UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn in the past, so this bout can be seen as an attempt by the UFC to mark just one for a potential rematch with "The Prodigy" in the near future.

Kenny Florian arguably took a round from Penn at last August's UFC 101: Penn vs. Florian before succumbing to a fourth-round rear naked choke. He has since changed his main training camp from Mark DellaGrotte's Team Sityodtong in Boston, to Firas Zahabi's TriStar Gym in Montreal. Displaying his newly retooled MMA game for the first time, Florian recently rebounded from his loss to Penn with a convincing submission of Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (25-11) at last December's UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez. Kenny has won ten of his twelve career UFC bouts at lightweight, including seven of his last eight.

Takanori Gomi fought BJ Penn back in 2003 when "The Prodigy" was in the midst of a self-imposed exile from the UFC. It was a spirited, back-and-forth match that ended when Penn secured a fight-ending rear naked choke midway through the third round. Since that time "The Fireball Kid" competed mostly in Japan's PRIDE and Sengoku promotions compiling a record of 17-3-1. However, with losses in two of his last four, some have began to question if the hard-hitting Gomi has lost a step. It seems he will have the chance to acquit himself of those accusations in his long-awaited UFC debut against "Ken-Flo" on March, 31st.

This match-up presents an extreme likelihood for a violent and decisive finish considering that Florian and Gomi have ended 28 of their 43 career victories inside the distance, for a combined finishing rate of over %65.

Other matches likely for UFN 21 (March 31st) include: Roy Nelson vs. Stefan Struve; Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera; Yushin Okami vs. Lucio Linhares; Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner; Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver; and Gleison Tibau vs. Caol Uno

Takanori Gomi Signs Multi-Fight Deal With The UFC

In what has to be regarded as the biggest free-agent signing in all of sport thus far in 2010, sources close to the negotiations have announced through MMAFanhouse.com that lightweight, Japanese striking sensation, "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (31-5, 7-2-1 L10) has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.

In all seriousness, this move represents is a major acquisition for Zuffa as "The Fireball Kid" has to be regarded as at least the second most marketable Japanese MMA fighter currently in the fight game. In fact, Gomi's all-action style may arguably make him even more marketable than DREAM's lightweight champion Shinya Aoki, who is his only realistic competition in terms of desirability for fight promotions.

If you concentrate, you can almost hear the sighs of relief from hardcore MMA fans now that Gomi, a great performer and talented athlete, will officially no longer be toiling in the obscurity of promotions like Sengoku, Shooto and Vale Tudo Japan. Now let's hope this signing inspires a true return to the form that once had Gomi ranked among the very best lightweight fighters in the world.