31 December 2004

Saitama, Japan

PRIDE: Shockwave 2004

By Brad Wharton

A favorite pastime of early to mid-00s MMA fans was the good old PRIDE versus UFC debate. It lit up the forums for years in the pre-social media days and was fodder for heated debates and hilarious online meltdowns. Unfortunately, actual PRIDE vs UFC bouts were few and far between. When PRIDE had the opportunity to legitimize their upcoming ace Takanori Gomi with a fight against Jens ‘Lil Evil’ Pulver (a former UFC champion who had never lost his belt in the cage), they jumped at the opportunity, and fans were treated to a stone cold classic. 

THE FIREBALL KID

Aside from having one of MMA’s all-timer nicknames, Takanori Gomi will go down in history as one of the sport’s most memorable bell-to-bell fighters. With the clean-cut look, peroxide blond locks, and the propensity for starting fights in fifth gear, his rise to stardom was practically predetermined. PRIDE agreed, signing the 26-year-old former Shooto champion following a pair of spirited losses to BJ Penn and Joachim Hansen and building their PRIDE: Bushido series – largely a showcase for lower weight classes – around him. Gomi went 4-0 on the Bushido shows, all first-round finishes, with a crushing six-second KO of Ralph Gracie and a slick submission of fan-favorite American Charles ‘Krazy Horse’ Bennett, cementing him as the brand’s ace. With a promotion to the main PRIDE roster and the company’s annual ‘Shockwave’ New Year’s Eve event looming, it was time for Gomi to step into the bright lights. All he needed was the right opponent. 

LIL’ EVIL

Jens Pulver was in an odd place when he signed his PRIDE contract in late 2004. A few years earlier, he was on top of the MMA world. A member of the famous Miletich Fighting Systems team, he’d had the opportunity to train full-time early in his MMA career, and it was clear from the off that he had something special. Pulver had been a high school wrestling champion but quickly fell in love with his hands when transitioning to MMA. A nippy southpaw with a pair of hammer fists, Pulver wrestled defensively to stay on his feet or dictate positions before beating opponents into submission. The Iowan was also blessed with an iron mindset; a victim of horrendous abuse at the hands of his hard-drinking father, he was obsessed with making the Pulver name mean something good. That dream came true at UFC 30, when he captured the first ever 155lb world title, forever etching his name in the history books and earning him an induction into the promotion’s Hall of Fame. Having previously guaranteed his place on UFC highlight-reels for all of eternity with a brutal KO of John Lewis, Pulver defended the belt a handful of times before a contract dispute saw him walk away from the UFC for over four years. Outside the company he lost a few that he shouldn’t and won a few that he should, flitting with pro-boxing while quietly racking up impressive finishes from Japan to Hawaii. It was time to step back onto the big stage. All he needed was the right opponent. 

SHOCKWAVE 2004: OTOKO MATSURI

The 2004 edition of PRIDE’s annual New Year’s Eve spectacular wasn’t short of classic encounters. Fedor Emelianenko and ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira finished their trilogy. Wanderlei Silva moved up to heavyweight to fight K-1 legend Mark Hunt. For the first time in MMA, two Olympic gold medalists clashed when American Rulon Gardner fought Japanese Judo legend Hidehiko Yoshida. Anderson Silva even suffered a spectacular submission loss via a flying heel hook. For the hardcores, Gomi vs. Pulver was the card’s hidden gem.    

The pair had both started in their usual southpaw stances, but it didn’t take long for Gomi to attempt a double leg and find out just how good Pulver’s defensive wrestling was. The Fireball Kid went back to sticking his man with a heavy, lunging jab, but Pulver was happy to take it and counter with his trademark left. 

The American landed a nice left hook to the body, but an errant eye poke from Gomi prevented him from capitalizing. “His finger went right in!” winced Pulver, not that he had any intention of calling it off. He received a warm round of applause from the 35,000-strong Saitama Super Arena crowd for returning to business as quickly as possible.

NON-STOP PULVERISING

The action became almost too frenetic to follow strike for strike. Gomi found a home for some clubbing right hands, while Pulver clipped him with faster shots from combinations, usually ending up with a crisp left. Gomi eventually tried to throw a couple of low kicks into the mix, but they only encouraged Pulver to start putting some venom into his counter lefts. 

The Japanese fighter eventually took a leaf out of his opponent’s book, digging a huge body shot into Pulver’s midsection that earned him a visible reaction. Bolstered by his success, Gomi opened up with heavy strikes, only for Pulver to dazzle him with a flurry of jabs.

As the round wore on, Gomi started to commit more; a pair of tasty left hooks to the body and head moved Pulver back and became a go-to as the bout continued. The pair were operating at an incredible pace; with PRIDE’s 10-minute opening round, surely something had to give? The round structure usually led to a first frame that ebbed and flowed, but there were no lulls in the action. Commentator Bas Rutten likened it to Duran-Hagler.

A PACE TO THE FINISH

A series of big hooks and knees thudded into Pulver’s head and body, causing him to wince and grimace with every blow. There was a notable size difference between the pair. Ironically, Gomi, who struggled with a relative lack of size compared to the opponents he would face in the UFC years later, presented as a much larger man. According to the tale of the tape, he was just a pound heavier than his American counterpart, but he’d packed on some mass since weighing in at 161lbs 24 hours earlier. Pulver, meanwhile, had boxed at 146lbs as recently as nine weeks prior. 

Pulver was a notoriously powerful hitter, but the smacks from Gomi’s mitts were landing with an audible crunch. Neither man was on the back foot per se, but ‘The Fireball Kid’s’ shots were stopping his man dead in his tracks and allowing him to follow up with further brutalism. 

Pulver was sticking to his game plan like glue, but Gomi’s investments in the body had begun to pay off. There were some deep breaths, and his mouth hung slightly ajar. Still, the dauntless Iowan wasn’t out of the fight, snapping his foe's head back with a piston-like right jab, left straight combo. 

A knee hurt Lil Evil, and his opponent pounced, letting rip with a series of hooks and uppercuts on the inside. The American refused to give a quarter, going blow for sickening blow with Gomi, but it came off worse with each exchange. A pair of signature left hands offered a glimmer of hope, but the home fighter’s chin was answering his call. 

Another left straight was Pulver’s last hurrah; after abusing the body for what felt like an eternity, Gomi went back upstairs with a right hook, left uppercut combination. Pulver wasn’t out, but he was down and the referee mercifully called a stop to the action. 

The bout cemented Gomi – for a time – as the world’s best lightweight, a true passing of the torch.