Takanori Gomi

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Takanori Gomi bigraphy, stories - Japanese martial artist

Takanori Gomi : biography

September 22, 1978 –

, is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is a former Shooto Lightweight Champion and was the last and only PRIDE Lightweight Champion. He is also a four-time All Japan Combat Wrestling champion. During his time in PRIDE he was considered to be the top Lightweight fighter in the world.http://www.sherdog.com/stats/powerratings/upr-fighter-alltime

Biography

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 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.

Championships and accomplishments

  • PRIDE Fighting Championships
    • PRIDE World Lightweight Champion (1 Time, Only)
    • PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix Champion
    • Holds fastest knockout in Pride, at 6 seconds, at Pride Bushido 3
  • Ultimate Fighting Championship
    • Knockout Of The Night (1 Time)
    • Fight of the Night (1 Time)
  • Professional Shooto Japan
    • Shooto Welterweight Championship (2 Times)
  • Sherdog Awards
    • 2005 Sherdog Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts career

Shooto

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 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 in 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.

Rumble on the Rock

Gomi then fought Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, 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.

Pride Fighting Championships

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