UFC 125 – Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi Prediction

Fight Overview:  Former PRIDE champion Gomi looks for another UFC win against frenetic wrestler Clay “The Carpenter” Guida.  Gomi has dynamite in his hands, but it is hard to throw power punches off your back, so he is going to need an answer for Guida’s takedowns to win this.

Guida’s Strengths:  Guida has dominant wrestling, excellent cardio, and fights at a relentless pace that most of his opponents find it impossible to deal with.

Guida’s Weaknesses:  His striking and striking defense are both subpar and his offense is very one-dimensional.

Gomi’s Strengths:  Gomi has massive power punching that can lay flat anyone he connects with.  He also has underrated wrestling, although not on Guida’s level.

Gomi’s Weaknesses:  He tends toward wildness and against Guida he is going to have to temper his standup in order to fight off takedown attempts.

The Verdict:  I think this one favors Gomi stylistically.  Guida is clearly the superior wrestler, but Gomi has decent wrestling of his own, whereas this is a total mismatch on the feet.  I think Guida’s aggressiveness may hurt him for once, with him trying to force takedowns and walking right into Gomi’s power punches.  Gomi by T/KO.