DUANE “BANG” LUDWIG TAKES ON TAKANORI GOMI

Posted on | March 4, 2008 | No Comments

Developing a game plan for the one of the world’s toughest fighters – on a few weeks’ notice – would be a challenge for any athlete. But trying to cut down to an extra weight class in the process could be called madness.

But that’s exactly what Duane “Bang”Ludwig (16-7) is trying to do for his upcoming fight with former PRIDE lightweight champ Takanori Gomi (27-3).

The Ludwig-Gomi fight headlines the World Victory Road’s debut show, which takes place Wednesday, March 5 at the National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. The co-main event bout takes place at 154 lbs.

“When I got the call, I was 183 lbs.,” said Ludwig, a two-time UFC fighter. “I was supposed to fight Steve Berger (at a Strikeforce show) at 170 lbs., so I was trying to keep on some weight. The call came, so it was time to start dropping the weight.”

WVR actually called up Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker to inquire about Ludwig for the fight, and once Ludwig got assurance that Berger wouldn’t be left without an opponent, he accepted the fight.

However, will such a drastic, unexpected cut affect Ludwig’s performance?

“Probably,” Ludwig admitted. “But we’ll see what happened. I couldn’t pass up the fight because it’s such a great opportunity.”
A win over Gomi, arguably the world’s top lightweight fighter, could be the biggest victory of of Ludwig’s career, though a January 2003 first-round KO of Jens Pulver (when Pulver was in his absolute prime) is right up there.

So, how do you fight Gomi, a fighter who likes to stand and trade but is as equally dangerous with submissions?

“I’m just going to see where the fight goes,” Ludwig said. “If I can get a submission, of course I’ll take a submission. Ideally, though, I’d like to keep it on the feet and see what I can do there. But if I get cracked or don’t have luck there, I’ll be happy to take the fight to the ground. But it’s MMA, so we’ll just see what happens.

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