Takanori Gomi

Takanori Gomi (五味隆典) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who gained international fame in Pride Fighting Championships.

Later in his career, Gomi also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Gomi is the only Pride FC Lightweight Champion in the organization's history.

Gomi was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1978 and started boxing at Sagamihara Yonekura Gym in 1994 while he was attending Kanagawa Prefectural Aikawa Higashi Junior High School.

Gomi was athletic and 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 incident.

Gomi then went on to learn freestyle wrestling and catch wrestling at Kiguchi Dojo 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.

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.

Gomi became the Shooto World Lightweight 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 for six years.

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.

Gomi then fought former UFC Welterweight Champion, and former UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn on October 10, 2003, at the Rumble on the Rock 4 event in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His first fight under unified rules, Gomi was defeated in the third round by rear-naked choke submission.

After back-to-back losses, Gomi found a new home in Japan's biggest MMA organization, the Pride Fighting Championships.

Nicknamed "The Fireball Kid", Gomi had a ten-fight winning streak spanning 2004 to 2006 in Pride FC, the longest in the organization's history.

During this streak, Gomi knocked out Ralph Gracie in six seconds, the quickest knockout victory in Pride FC history.

He made his debut within the organization on February 15, 2004, at Pride Bushido 2 where he fought Jadyson Costa of the famed Chute Boxe team out of Brazil.

Gomi stopped Costa via TKO halfway 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 KO in the first round, the quickest match in the organization's history, due to repeated knee strikes.

Gomi remained within the Bushido series, fighting and defeating both Fábio 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."

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.

He became the Lightweight Grand Prix Winner at Pride Shockwave 2005, thus winning every lightweight accolade put forth by Pride FC.

Gomi also held a record twelve-fight winning streak in Shooto, where he was a former Shooto Lightweight Champion, as well as a four-time All-Japan Combat Wrestling Champion.

Gomi later defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri (voted Pride FC's Fight of the Year), Luiz Azeredo, and Hayato Sakurai en route to becoming Pride FC's 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix Winner, after which he was awarded the Pride FC Lightweight Championship.

At Pride Bushido 13, Gomi successfully defended the title against Marcus Aurélio.

Throughout both his record-breaking Pride FC and Shooto championship reigns, Gomi was considered to be the top lightweights in the world and is regarded as one of the greatest lightweight fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.

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.