Takanori Gomi

MMAstatsbox|name=Takanori Gomi


nick=Fireball Kid
height=height|m=1.73
weight=convert|72|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|9|22
died=
fightingfrom=
hometown=Kanagawa, Japan
fightteam=Team RASCALcite web
url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=425
title=Fight Finder: Takanori Gomi
year=2007
accessdate=2007-08-15
publisher=Sherdog]
fightstyle=Shooto
wins=29
losses=3
draws=0
nocontest=
ko=10
submissions=6|nihongo|Takanori Gomi|五味隆典|Gomi Takanori|extra=born September 22,1978, "The Fireball Kid", is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently competes for World Victory Road. Gomi is a former Shooto Welterweight Champion and still holds the lightweight title from defunct promotion PRIDE Fighting Championship. He is also a four-time All Japan Combat Wrestling champion. Characterized by his ambidexterity in striking, Gomi is considered by many to be one of the best MMA lightweights in the world. Both Sherdog and MMAWeekly rank Gomi as the #2 lightweight in the world behind BJ Penn. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=12928&my_page=6 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings ] ] [ [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/topten.asp?articleid=8&zoneid=15 Lightweight Rankings - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more ] ]

Biography

Childhood

Takanori Gomi was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1978. He started boxing at Sagamihara Yonekura Gym in 1994 while he was attending Kanagawa Prefectural Aikawa Higashi Junior High School. Gomi was very athletic and was the pitcher of the school’s baseball team, but dropped out of high school in 1996 when he failed to pass on to the next grade. This caused an argument between Gomi and his father who disowned him as a result of the altercation. Gomi then went on to learn American wrestling and competed in many wrestling tournaments throughout Japan, the pinnacle of his grappling career being his four All Japan Combat Wrestling championships, in which he defeated a number of the nation's top grapplers, future opponent Mitsuhiro Ishida amongst them.Fact|date=August 2007

hooto

Gomi joined the official Shooto gym in 1997 where he began training and taking part in the amateur Shooto competitions. He made his professional mixed martial arts debut on November 27, 1998 at "Shooto Las Grandes Viajes 6" in Tokyo, where he defeated Hiroshi Tsuruya by decision. Gomi won his first 14 MMA matches, mostly in the Shooto organization, but also fought in Vale Tudo Japan and in the Hawaiian-based organization SuperBrawl.

Takanori Gomi became the Shooto world welterweight champion in 2001 after defeating former teammate Rumina Sato by unanimous decision on December 16. Gomi then defeated highly regarded American grappler Chris Brennan on September 16, 2002 via unanimous decision. He also defended the Shooto crown in 2002, beating Dokonjonosuke Mishima by TKO in the second round.

Gomi's first loss was also his last fight in Shooto. It took place on August 10, 2003 at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium. Gomi lost his title to Norwegian fighter Joachim Hansen by majority decision. This loss was considered a huge upset at the time due to Hansen's 6-1-1 record in MMA.

Rumble on the Rock

Gomi then fought Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, former UFC welterweight champion, and current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn on October 10, 2003 at the "Rumble on the Rock 4" event in Honolulu, Hawaii. His first and only fight under unified rules, Gomi was defeated in the third round by rear naked choke.

PRIDE Fighting Championships

After back-to-back losses, Gomi found a new home in Japan’s premier MMA organization, the PRIDE Fighting Championships. He made his debut within the organization on February 15, 2004 at "PRIDE Bushido 2" where he fought Jadson Costa of the famed Chute Boxe team out of Brazil. Gomi stopped Costa via TKO half way through the first round.

Gomi was asked back to PRIDE to face off with the undefeated Ralph Gracie at "PRIDE Bushido 3". Gracie was the first coach of B.J. Penn, one of Gomi’s losses. Unlike his fight with Penn, Gomi made quick work of Gracie, scoring a six second TKO in the first round- the quickest match in the organization’s history, due to repeated knee strikes.

Takanori remained within the "Bushido" series, fighting and defeating both Fabio Mello and Charles "Crazy Horse" Bennett in the first round at "PRIDE Bushido 4" and "PRIDE Bushido 5". Mello later noted that, “Apart from being a good wrestler and a fine striker, Gomi knows how to defend on the ground. He is a complete fighter who, due to his MMA experience, grows as the bout unfolds.”Fact|date=January 2008

Gomi then appeared at PRIDE’s New Year’s Eve show, "PRIDE Shockwave 2004", against former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. Gomi scored a knockout with an uppercut at 6:21 in the first round.

Gomi started off 2005 with a win over Luiz Azeredo at "PRIDE Bushido 7". Azeredo dominated the fight from the opening bell with knees, punches, and flying kicks, but at the 3:46 mark of the first round, Gomi caught Luiz with two hooks that sent the Chute Boxe fighter to the mat. Gomi was then criticized for continuing to attack, even after Azeredo became unconscious, and was restrained by Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) crew and staff. The Chute Boxe team stormed the ring and got into an altercation with Kiguchi Dojo. Gomi later stated that the extracurricular attack was due to adrenaline and apologized for his actions.

Wanting to capitalize on the altercation at "PRIDE Bushido 7" and Gomi's wins over Chute Boxe team members Jadson Costa and Luiz Azeredo, PRIDE set Gomi up with Chute Box lightweight and Cage Rage champion Jean Silva at "PRIDE Bushido 8". Gomi won the fight by unanimous decision, securing an armbar in the waning seconds of the fight.

In August, PRIDE announced that in the month of September they would be hosting an eight-man lightweight tournament. The first round set up Takanori Gomi with fellow Japanese fighter and then Shooto world welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri. This fight was billed "the battle of the twenty first century boys" in Japan due to the popularity and world-class match up of the two fighters.Fact|date=August 2007 Many MMA critics had Gomi ranked number one and Kawajiri number two in the lightweight division.Fact|date=August 2007 Gomi submitted Kawajiri in the first round with a rear naked choke. Gomi then had to fight again later that night in the semi-finals against Luiz Azeredo. Gomi won via unanimous decision, becoming a finalist in the 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix.

Gomi met the other finalist, Hayato Sakurai, at "PRIDE Shockwave 2005". Sakurai and Gomi were teammates at the official Shooto gym back in the late 90's.Fact|date=August 2007 Sakurai defeated Jens Pulver and Joachim Hansen to reach the finals. After some exchanges on their feet, Sakurai tried to take Gomi down with a hip toss, but on the way down, Gomi ended up on top in the mount. "The Fireball Kid" began to rain down punches, and after taking a lot of shots Sakurai twisted to escape, giving his back to Gomi. Finally Sakurai escaped and both fighters were on their feet, but the punches had taken their toll on Sakurai. Gomi threw a right hand and then followed up with a left-right combination. The last right hook caught Sakurai on the chin, knocking him out at 3:56 of the first round. Gomi was crowned the PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix champion.

Gomi then made his 2006 debut at "PRIDE Bushido 10". Before the event, DSE announced that Gomi would be crowned the PRIDE world lightweight champion due to winning the PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix, although the upcoming "Bushido 10" fight would not be a title match. He then faced Marcus Aurelio of American Top Team later that night. Aurelio choked out Gomi within the first round with an arm triangle. This match-up was a huge upset and put a lot of doubt within Gomi’s ability to fight off of his back. Although Aurelio won the match, it was a non-title bout, with Takanori Gomi remaining the PRIDE lightweight champion. Gomi said he took the match too easily and that this loss was the best thing for him to refocus and become a better fighter.Fact|date=August 2007

After a few months off while building his "Rascal Gym", Gomi made his return to the PRIDE ring at "PRIDE Bushido 12" against 10-1 French fighter David Baron. Baron seemed willing to trade with Gomi and managed to slip some punches. Eventually Gomi caught up with him and knocked the Frenchman down, mixing up punches to the head and body. Baron missed a takedown attempt, allowing the PRIDE champion to get around his back and slam Baron to the ground. Baron rolled in an attempt to shake off his Japanese opponent, but Gomi held on, sinking in a rear naked choke. Baron defended the choke as long as he could, but eventually Gomi completed the technique, forcing Baron to tap at the 7:10 mark of the first round. Baron had previously won a tournament in Europe for the right to face Gomi.Fact|date=August 2007

Gomi rematched Aurelio at "PRIDE Bushido 13" on November 5, 2006. This time the PRIDE lightweight championship was on the line. Both fighters were extremely cautious, and many times the referee could be heard calling for more action during the bout. Aurelio’s jab was effective and hit the champion several times. Gomi, often switching his stance, replied with strikes of his own and landed numerous leg kicks. Several times the American Top Team fighter ended up on his back after failed takedown attempts. Rather than follow him down, Gomi just kicked Aurelio’s legs until the referee would stand the action back up.

Aurelio scored a clean takedown at the end of the first round, though. Aurelio attempted another takedown in the second, only to see "The Fireball Kid" counter with a kimura. Gomi showed shades of his past catch wrestling accolades when he countered another Aurelio takedown attempt with a half-nelson. He did not follow Aurelio to the ground, instead attacking his legs with kicks. Gomi refused to follow Aurelio to the ground despite his opponent's taunting. Gomi knocked down Aurelio with a body shot late in the last round, and the bout ended with Gomi connecting with a hard kick to Aurelio's body just before the final bell. The fight went to the judges and Gomi retained his title, walking away with the split decision.

Gomi's most recent win was a first round knockout of Mitsuhiro Ishida at "PRIDE Shockwave 2006". Less than a minute into the fight Gomi countered a right leg kick from Ishida with a straight left punch that knocked him down. Gomi immediately went in for the finish, stopping Ishida with a series of hammer fists.

At "PRIDE 33", Gomi suffered a loss to UFC veteran, Nick Diaz by way of gogoplata submission. In the beginning of the first round, Gomi was landing blows on the taller Diaz, even scoring a knockdown, which he was unable to capitalize upon. However, Diaz came back quickly and began to bombard Gomi, who had become visibly exhausted, with straight jabs and right hands for the later half of the round. As the second round opened, Gomi gamely tried to regain lost ground, but after a double leg takedown into Diaz's guard, suddenly found himself in a gogoplata submission. The lightweight champion tapped out at 1:46 of the second round. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has declared the fight a "no contest" after Diaz tested positive for marijuana. [cite web
url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=7231
title=NSAC Changes Diaz Win to No-Decision
date=2007-04-10
accessdate=2007-04-10
last=Gross
first=Josh
publisher=Sherdog.com]

By the end of his PRIDE tenture, Gomi was 13-1 with 1 NC in PRIDE.

World Victory Road

After Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased PRIDE Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment, Gomi signed on with World Victory Road, and fought in it's inaugural event, "Sengoku", where he defeated Duane Ludwig by TKO (cut).cite web
url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=11082
title=Gomi to World Victory Road
last=Breen
first=Jordan
publisher=Sherdog.com
date=January 31, 2008
accessdate=2008-01-31]

His next fight was at World Victory Road's "" on August 24, 2008 against Sung Hwan Pang. Gomi won the contest via Unanimous Decision.

Mixed martial arts record

MMArecordbox
wins=29
losses=3
nc=1
ko-wins=10
sub-wins=6
sub-losses=2
dec-wins=13
dec-losses=1{| style="font-size: 85%; text-align: left;" class="wikitable" width="100%"
-!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Event!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Method!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Time!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
-
8/24/2008
yes2Win
flagicon|South Korea Sung Hwang Pang|
Decision (Unanimous)
3
5:00
-
3/5/2008
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Duane Ludwig|
TKO (Cut)
1
2:28|
-
2/24/2007
colspan=1 style="background: #c5d2ea" | NC
flagicon|USA Nick Diaz|
Overturned by NSAC
2
1:46
Original loss via submission (gogoplata), result overturned by NSAC after Diaz failed drug test. Non-Title Bout
-
12/31/2006
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Mitsuhiro Ishida
PRIDE Shockwave 2006
TKO (strikes)
1
1:14
Non-Title Bout
-
11/5/2006
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Marcus Aurelio
PRIDE Bushido 13
Decision (split)
2
5:00
Defended PRIDE Lightweight Championship
-
8/26/2006
yes2Win
flagicon|France David Baron
PRIDE Bushido 12
Submission (rear naked choke)
1
7:10
Non-Title Bout
-
4/2/2006
no2Loss
flagicon|Brazil Marcus Aurelio
PRIDE Bushido 10
Submission (arm triangle choke)
1
4:34
Non-Title Bout
-
12/31/2005
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Hayato Sakurai
PRIDE Shockwave 2005
KO (punches)
1
3:56
PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix Final. Was awarded PRIDE Lightweight Championship
-
9/25/2005
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Luiz Azeredo
PRIDE Bushido 9
Decision (unanimous)
2
5:00
PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix semi-finals
-
9/25/2005
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Tatsuya Kawajiri
PRIDE Bushido 9
Submission (rear naked choke)
1
7:42
PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix quarter-finals
-
7/17/2005
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Jean Silva
PRIDE Bushido 8
Decision (unanimous)
2
5:00|
-
5/22/2005
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Luiz Azeredo
PRIDE Bushido 7
KO (punches)
1
3:46|
-
12/31/2004
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Jens Pulver
PRIDE Shockwave 2004
KO (punch)
1
6:21|
-
10/14/2004
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Charles Bennett
PRIDE Bushido 5
Submission (kimura)
1
5:52|
-
7/19/2004
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Fabio Mello
PRIDE Bushido 4
TKO (strikes)
1
8:07|
-
5/23/2004
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Ralph Gracie
PRIDE Bushido 3
TKO (knees)
1
0:06
Fastest knockout in PRIDE FC history
-
2/15/2004
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Jadson Costa
PRIDE Bushido 2
TKO (strikes)
1
4:55|
-
10/10/2003
no2Loss
flagicon|USA B.J. Penn
Rumble on the Rock 4
Submission (rear naked choke)
3
2:35|
-
8/10/2003
no2Loss
flagicon|Norway Joachim Hansen
Shooto in Yokohama Gymnasium
Decision (majority)
3
5:00
Lost Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
2/23/2003
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Nick Ertl
Shooto 2003-2/23 in Korakuen Hall
Submission (armbar)
1
4:59
Defended Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
12/14/2002
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Shooto 2002 Year-End Show
TKO (punches)
2
0:52
Defended Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
9/16/2002
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Chris Brennan
Shooto: Treasure Hunt 10
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00
Defended Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
6/29/2002
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Leonardo Santos
Shooto: Treasure Hunt 7
Decision (majority)
3
5:00
Defended Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
12/16/2001
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Rumina Sato
Shooto: To The Top Final Act
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00
Won Shooto World Welterweight Championship
-
11/12/2000
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Ryan Bow
Shooto: R.E.A.D. 12
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
7/16/2000
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Paul Rodriguez
Shooto: R.E.A.D. 6
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
4/2/2000
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Huanderson Pavao
Shooto: R.E.A.D. 3
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
12/11/1999
yes2Win
flagicon|Brazil Johnny Eduardo
Vale Tudo Japan 1999
Submission (rear naked choke)
3
1:43|
-
9/5/1999
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Takuya Kawabara
Shooto: Renaxis 4
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
6/1/1999
yes2Win
flagicon|USA Stephen Palling
SuperBrawl 12
Submission (rear naked choke)
1
3:06|
-
3/28/1999
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Takuya Kuwabara
Shooto: Renaxis 1
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
1/15/1999
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Kazumichi Takada
Shooto: DEVILOCK Fighters
TKO (punches)
2
3:42|
-
11/27/1998
yes2Win
flagicon|Japan Hiroshi Tsuruya
Shooto: Las Grandes Viajes 6
Decision (unanimous)
3
5:00|
-
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Championships and accomplishments

Wrestling

*2nd All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships (69 kg division) 3rd place 1998
*5th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships (69 kg division) 1st place 2001
*6th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships (67 - 74 kg division) 1st place, March 24, 2002
*8th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships (67 - 74 kg division) 1st place, February 23, 2003
*12th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships (67-74 kg division) 1st place 2007

Mixed martial arts

*PRIDE World lightweight champion (April 1, 2006 - present)
*PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix Champion (December 31, 2005)
*Shooto Welterweight Champion (December 16, 2001 - August 10, 2003)

ee also

*List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

* [http://www.t-gomi.com/ Official website]
*Sherdog|id=425|name=Takanori Gomi
* [http://www.prideofficial.com/free/fighters/details/1090560115.html PRIDE profile]