Takanori Gomi

Who Is Takanori Gomi?

Takanori Gomi is the lowest point in a person’s life and can surely include being disowned by family and dropping out of high school. Takanori Gomi persisted in pursuing his love of boxing despite this setback.

He, often known as The Fireball Kid, is a Japanese professional MMA who rose to prominence abroad as a result of his victories in the Pride Fighting Championships.

Additionally, Gomi competed in the UFC and was one of the four Pride World Champions to do so.

His twelve-fight winning streak is one of his career’s noteworthy accomplishments. Gomi has won the All-Japan Combat Wrestling Championship four times as well.

Let’s also learn more about Gomi in-depth. Let’s look at a few quick facts about The Fireball Kid first.

More Face About Takanori Gomi

Early Life, Family, and Education | Takanori Gomi

On September 22, 1978, Takanori Gomi, often known as The Fireball Kid, was born in Kanagawa, Japan.

For the most part, Gomi has led a private existence.

As a result, little is known about his parents or siblings.

Gomi was born on a date that falls under the sign of Virgo, according to astrological charts.

Men with the Virgo sun sign are often watchful, sensible, and honest.

Age, height, and physical characteristics

Takanori Gomi, a Japanese UFC fighter, is 43 years old, measures 5’8″ (1.73 m) tall, and weighs 155 lb (70 kg).

Gomi has a similar athletic frame to Gomi and dark eyes.

He is also renowned for frequently switching up the color of his hair.

He currently sports platinum blonde hair.

Education

Takanori Gomi went to Kanagawa Prefectural Aikawa Higashi Junior High School when he was younger.

Gomi began training in boxing in 1994 while still a high school student at Sagamihara Yonekura Gym.

Gomi, a pitcher for his school’s baseball team, was exceptionally athletic and participated in baseball.

Gomi, however, left high school in 1996 after failing to advance to the following grade.

Additionally, Gomi’s father disowned him as a result of their argument over the matter.

Gomi studied catch wrestling and freestyle wrestling at Kiguchi Dojo after leaving home.

Takanori participated in a number of wrestling competitions in Japan.

Winning over several of the greatest grapplers in the nation was one of his notable careers in the sport.

The Career and Profession of Takanori Gomi
A career in Mixed Martial Arts

Shooto

In addition, Gomi started training in the official Shooto gym in 1997.

He also participated in a number of amateur Shooto competitions.

On November 27, 1998, Gomi made his professional mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Las Grandes Viajes 6, in Tokyo, where he defeated Hiroshi Tsuruya by decision.

The majority of Takanori’s first 14 MMA matches, which took place in the Shooto organization, were victories.

Additionally, he participated in SuperBrawl and Vale Tudo Japan, two Hawaiian organizations.

On December 16, 2001, the advancing champion defeated Rumina Sato, a former colleague, and went on to win the unanimous decision to become the Shooto World Lightweight Champion.

Similar to that, on September 16, 2002, he defeated Chris Brennan, a renowned American wrestler, by unanimous decision.

In 2002, Gomi defeated Dokonjonosuke Mishima through TKO in the second round to win back his Shooto title.

In his final Shooto match after six years, Takanori suffered his first-ever defeat on August 10, 2003, in the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium.

Rock on the Rumble

Then Gomi and B.J. engaged in combat. Penn, a former UFC Welterweight and Lightweight Champion, competed at Rumble on the Rock 4 on October 10, 2003.

Additionally, Gomi was defeated via rear-naked choke submission in the third round in his debut bout under unified rules.

Fighting Championships Pride
Gomi, who had suffered back-to-back defeats, found a new home with the Pride Fighting Championships, the biggest MMA company in Japan.

On February 15, 2004, Takanomi competed in his debut match with the group, going up against Jayson Costa.

In addition, at Pride Bushido 3, Takanori fought the unbeaten Ralph Gracie.

The fastest bout in the history of the organization was won by him in six seconds.

He declared after defeating Fabio Mello:

“Gomi is a good hitter and a good wrestler, but he also knows how to defend on the ground.

He is a complete fighter with MMA experience who improves during the battle.

In his matchup with Luiz Azeredo at Pride Bushido 7, Takanori won to start the 2005 season.

Grand Prix Lightweight Champion

In addition, Pride said in August that they would have an eight-man Lightweight tournament in September, with Gomi and Tatsuya Kawajiri facing off in the opening round.

Due to the popularity of both boxers and the high caliber of the bout, Japan marketed the fight as “the fight of the twenty-first-century boys.”

Gomi and Kawajiri were ranked one and second, respectively, in the Lightweight division by several MMA pundits.

Takanori won the fight as a result, and after defeating Luiz Azeredo, he advanced to the 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix final.

At the official Shooto gym during the finals, Gomi squared off against his colleague Hayato Sakurai.

First-round winner Takanori was crowned the Pride 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix champion.

Likewise, Gomi’s stunning win earned him the Fighter of the Year title in 2005.

Noun Defend

On November 5, 2006, The Fireball Kid fought Marcus Aurelio, a member of the American Top Team, for the second time.

This time, his position was in jeopardy.

Again, the battle was exciting because two of the top boxers were involved.

When the judgment on the winner was reached, Takanori was able to successfully defend his Pride Lightweight Championship.

Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi

Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz is unquestionably a legendary MMA match.

Nick Diaz defeated Gomi as the fight took place on February 24, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States.

They began the fight by exchanging wild punches, and in the second round, Gomi passed punches directly under Diaz’s eyes. It appeared that Gomi had prevailed as they took a pause to assess Diaz’s injury.

After the comeback, though, Diaz used one of Jiu-more Jitsu’s uncommon and unusual submissions as Gomi made a mistaken pivot. As a result, Diaz emerged as the victor of the contest.

For the bout, Diaz had collected a total of $15,000.

However, Diaz’s post-fight drug test ultimately revealed that he had tested positive for marijuana.

The victory was thus removed from his record since he was discovered to have abnormally high blood THC levels.

Overall, they won the game by a decisive margin. Diaz received a $3,000 fine and a six-month suspension.

Road to World Victory

Following the purchase of Dream Stage Entertainment’s Pride Fighting Championship by American sports promotion business Zuffa, which is also the parent company of the UFC.

With the Japanese mixed martial arts organization World Victory Road, Takanori signed a contract.

After suffering numerous setbacks, he returned to Shooto and competed against former Shooto Champion Takashi Nakakura, whom he defeated in the second round via KO.

In addition, Takanori defeated Tony Hervey in his farewell match in Japan in October 2009 before departing for the United States.

Fighting Championship Ultimate

Furthermore, on January 1st, 2010, Takanori inked a contract with the UFC.

At UFC Fight Night 21, he faced Kenny Florian in his professional MMA debut.

When Joe Stevenson’s training-related injury forced him to withdraw, Gomi faced Tyson Griffin instead of Stevenson.

In the first round, Takanori defeated Griffin by KOing him with one blow.

Griffin has never been defeated via knockout before; all of his prior losses were the result of a judge’s decision.

Gomi received the Knockout Of The Night bonus as a result of his performance.

Furthermore, Gomi lost to Clay Guida by guillotine choke in the second round of their UFC 125 fight following a one-sided first round.

On September 24, 2011, Takanori competed against Nate Diaz at UFC 135, where he once again lost through first-round submission.

On February 26, 2012, at UFC 144, Takanori engaged in another battle with Australian fighter George Sotiropoulos.

However, due to an injury, he was unable to participate.

As a result, Gomi met Eiji Mitsuoka and won by TKO in the second round.

Failure at UFC

Gomi challenged Diego Sanchez on March 3, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 8, but lost via split decision.

The fight, however, sparked controversy because The Fireball Kid was widely perceived by the media to have won.

The president of the UFC, Dana White, stated on Twitter that Sanchez hadn’t done enough.

On April 26, 2014, Takanori defeated Isaac Vallie-Flagg to earn his second Fight of the Night prize.

After winning the next match, Gomi faced Myles Jury on September 20, 2014, and suffered his first knockout loss in his professional career.

Takanori was discharged by the UFC on October 23rd, 2017.

Gomi had a four-win and a nine-loss record while competing for the UFC.

In addition, he lost each of his final fights in the UFC in the first frame.

Fighting Federation of Rizin

On December 31st, 2017, Takanori competed against Yuzuke Yachi in the Rizin Fighting Federation after being absent from the Japanese promotion for seven years.

Unfortunately, he lost the battle in the first round via submission.

In addition, Takanori defeated UFC veteran Melvin Guillard in Rizin 11 by KO in the first round in under three minutes.

Fighting Career

Additionally, Takanomi made his Kickboxing debut against Masato in an exhibition match on December 31, 2016, at KYOKUGEN 2016.

The match reached the distance, but no winner was determined according to the official Kickboxing exhibition rules.

Quotes by Takanori Gomi

[Against Kenny Florian] I was anxious. Looking back, I believe I wasn’t even mentally prepared.

The key is that I was unable to fight in the same manner as usual; it wasn’t how he fought that was the issue.

I was being cautious because the “battle rules” are different, and as I was paying attention to him, he pulled me into his tempo.

I ought to have used my own fighting style.
I would like to be able to compete in the title bout, but I am aware that this won’t be possible until I have focused on each battle.

Stats and Fight History

Highlights, Recognition, and Accomplishments

Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight are the three weight classes in which Gomi has competed to date.

But despite how innocent he may appear, he is one of the best fighters in MMA.

His combat technique reportedly combines shootfighting, boxing, and wrestling.

He is also an aggressive boxer and a powerful brawler.

And Gomi adopts both southpaw and orthodox postures.

He actually earned the moniker “Fireball Kid” due to his powerful punches and impressive knockouts.

Gomi has won 36 games, 15 games, and no contest as of as now.

To give an example, he has defeated opponents by knockout in 14 matches, submission in 6, and decision in 16.

In addition, he has suffered 8 submission defeats, 4 knockout losses, and 3 decision losses.

Takanori Gomi: Wealth

When Takanori Gomi first began his MMA career, he immediately saw great success.

He has won a number of tournaments, and he surely made a respectable sum of money from each of his matches.

Despite the fact that Gomi has kept his income a secret, we might assume that-

Takanori Gomi has an estimated net worth of $3 million.

Takanori Gomi’s Net Worth in Different Currencies

Here is Takanori Gomi’s net worth in various currencies, including the Euro and the Pound.

Takanori Gomi: Spouse and Kids

Gomi belongs to the group of persons who have lived largely in private. As a result, we may conclude that Takanori has never spoken publicly about his romantic relationships or past.

According to a number of accounts, he has only ever been in one relationship.

Gomi has not, however, confirmed that he is dating or married to his reported partner.

Furthermore, Takanori has a daughter who he mentioned on Instagram but whose name is still unknown.

Takanori Gomi, a dog enthusiast

Gomi has a lovely and tender side despite his outward toughness.

He apparently enjoys dogs a lot and treats them how he pleases.

You may also be aware of the seizure he experienced as a result of having his pets taken away.

This is definitely not normal.

He has also explained to himself why he has license plates that read “Animal Rescue.”

Not to mention, he enjoys hosting birthday celebrations for his dogs and setting up Instagram accounts for them.

“My dogs and I are inseparable. I cherish them above all else.

I’m also not one of those weirdos that makes fake Instagram accounts for their pets or hosts birthday parties for their dogs.
-Takanori Gomi.

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The presence of Takanori Gomi in social media

Instagram has 39,6k users.

26.5k Followers on Twitter

33.3k subscribers on YouTube