Sherdog’s Top 10: Japanese Fighters

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2. Takanori Gomi

He has been fighting in the UFC since 2010 but has not made the kind of impact for which many diehard fans had hoped. Still, if “The Fireball Kid” walked away from the sport tomorrow, his mediocre 4-6 record inside the Octagon would do nothing to diminish his legacy. Gomi was for a time MMA’s premier lightweight.

Gomi won his first 14 fights and 24 of his first 26, capturing titles in both Pride and Shooto. Between Nov. 27, 1998 and Dec. 31, 2005, he lost only to Joachim Hansen and B.J. Penn. A wrestler with brutal knockout power and a willingness to exchange on the feet, he netted victories over Johnny Eduardo, Rumina Sato, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azeredo, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato Sakurai and Mitsuhiro Ishida during an extended run of dominance.

While the last five years have given way to a diminished Gomi, he has still managed to rekindle some past magic in wins over Tyson Griffin, Eiji Mitsuoka, Mac Danzig and Isaac Vallie-Flagg.

Number 1 » He is MMA royalty, not just in his native Japan but across the globe. His overall record may lack some shine, but he was willing to fight anyone at any time. No other fighter from Japan has had more of an impact on mixed martial arts.