UFC on Fox 16 is a solid card of interesting action within the mixed martial arts world. At the top of the docket, T.J. Dillashaw will defend his bantamweight title against the man he defeated in Renan Barao. While this is a rematch of a huge upset from 2014, there is another bout that may capture the attention of hardcore and mainstream fans alike. Joe Lauzon versus Takanori Gomi may not be for a belt, but it can be a highly exciting contest that leaves people cheering once it is over.
Lauzon versus Gomi features two men who are currently unranked in the UFC Top 15 for the lightweight division. Both men have suffered through some struggles in their career recently.
Lauzon is 2-3 in his last five fights and was finished by Al Iaquinta at UFC 183. Gomi is 1-2 in his last three, and he was finished by Myles Jury in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 52. A victory for either man will not launch them into consideration for big-name fights within the division.
Even though this fight isn’t a main event, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the potential to excite fans with the action that will take place.
On one side of the cage is Lauzon, a fighter who has earned multiple UFC bonuses. According to Cage Potato, the Massachusetts native leads all UFC fighters with a record 13 post-fight bonuses. Of his 24 career victories, 23 have ended in a finish. Eighteen of those finishes were by some form of submission. Lauzon embodies aggression in such a way that can be to his detriment and his advantage at the same time.
Gomi is also familiar with the violent nature of mixed martial arts. In his career, he has ended 13 of his 35 victories via knockout and another six by submission. At 36 years old, he may not have the same knockout power that earned him the nickname “The Fireball Kid,” but that hasn’t stopped him from earning Fight of the Night honors twice in his five-year UFC career.
Pairing Gomi and Lauzon is a fight that pits two very active, but very hittable opponents against each other. According to the Fight Metric matchup report, both men are prone to being hit often during contests. Gomi absorbs 3.44 strikes per minute while landing 3.91 strikes of his own per minute. Lauzon absorbs 4.67 strikes per minute while landing only 2.44 during the same time period. These stats, along with their defensive percentages at 60 and 58 percent, respectively, show that both of these fighters are prone to taking a lot of damage during their fights.
Gomi and Lauzon are two skilled competitors in every aspect of the MMA world. They both have shown the ability to mix things up on the feet and in the grappling realm. Mix in their aggressive and sometimes dangerous fighting styles, and it’s easy to see why they have won so many fight bonuses between them. Even though they aren’t fighting for a spot in the top of the division, Gomi versus Lauzon has a clear shot to steal the show at UFC on Fox 16.
