Takanori Gomi, PRIDE's final reigning lightweight champion, is set to sign with upstart Japanese MMA promotion World Victory Road, Jordan Breen of Sherdog.com is reporting.

The deal between Gomi and WVR, which will pay him a reported $190,000 per fight, was finalized last week, according to Breen.

The report states that Gomi is slated to make his debut on March 5 during the promotion's "Sengoku" event at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

An opponent has not be named for Gomi's WVR debut but Rodrigo Damm and Fabricio Monteiro are believed to be possibilities.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

With Fedor Emelianenko, Brock Lesnar, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou now all under contract, the two biggest free agents currently on the open market are Josh Barnett and Takanori Gomi.

Barnett has received lucrative offers from both M-1 Global and EliteXC, while little is known about the status of Gomi. Many have said that he is holding out from a strong offer from one of the Japanese MMA promotions such as K-1 HERO's, World Victory Road, and possibly even the group behind organizing Yarennoka!

However, the UFC should not be ruled out as a possible destination. According to Gary Herman of CBSSports.com and 15rounds.com, Gomi attended UFC 79 in person on Saturday and even spoke briefly with UFC president Dana White.

After the event, White confirmed that Gomi was indeed in the building and that the promotion is still interested in him:

"I've wanted to sign Takanori Gomi for a long time. I am very interested in him,"

However, based on White's comments, it doesn't sound as though any serious negotiations took place over the weekend:

"Gomi was just here to watch the fights," White said, "He did stop by and say hello though."

I had ruled out Gomi going to the UFC a while back because I didn't think he could make as much money in the States as he could in Japan because of sponsorships. However, soon after making that statement I was corrected by people who have a better grasp of the Japanese MMA scene than do I. The feeling is that Gomi is not a big mainstream star in Japan and isn't as big over there as PRIDE would have liked many in North America to believe. 

While PRIDE is likely never to hold another show again, the UFC has yet to officially shut it down. Since Gomi was never stripped of the PRIDE lightweight title, he's still technically the promotion's champ.

Right now the plan is to have Sean Sherk face whoever wins the UFC lightweight title between B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 in January, but having another "Super Bowl of MMA" match between Gomi and the winner of Sherk vs. Stevenson/Penn would be an intriguing matchup. Gomi vs. Penn II, Gomi vs. Stevenson, or Gomi vs. Sherk could all potentially be great fights.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com