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5. Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Pride “Bushido 9”
Sept. 25, 2005 | Tokyo

At this point in his brilliant career, Gomi had only lost twice -- by disputed majority decision to Joachim Hansen and by rear-naked choke submission to B.J. Penn. Outside of those two bouts, Gomi had beaten everybody else he had faced. Kawajiri was riding a similar wave of success and had killer instinct to spare. This one was not going the distance, no matter what.

The two Japanese standouts immediately swung for the fences as soon as the match in the 2005 Pride lightweight grand prix began. Gomi was the aggressor, seemingly fearless of the return fire coming back at him. Kawajiri looked to counter, and they each landed a fair share of powerful right hands early. However, once Gomi rocked Kawajiri with his vaunted power, he eventually began to tee off on him. After eating a pair of knees, Kawajiri missed a takedown, absorbed some punches and eventually fell victim to a rear-naked choke.

Number 4 » Diaz vs. Gomi