Sherdog’s Top 10: New Year’s Eve Fights

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6. Takanori Gomi vs. Jens Pulver
Pride “Shockwave 2004” | Dec. 31, 2004

Pulver was the UFC’s inaugural lightweight champion, and he left the promotion in 2002 after a successful title defense against B.J. Penn at UFC 35. Unlike the faded version of “Little Evil” that has had his share of cringe-worthy defeats in recent bouts, the Pulver who squared off with Gomi was at or near his prime.

Gomi, meanwhile, was embarking on a reign of destruction in Pride that would leave him atop plenty of lightweight rankings. Heading into his clash with Pulver, Gomi had won his first four bouts in the promotion, stopping each of his opponents inside of a round. “The Fireball Kid” would eventually make Pulver victim No. 5 but not before a pretty decent standup battle ensued.

Pulver started well enough, stuffing an early takedown while displaying his vaunted boxing skills for the early portion of the fight. Once Gomi got warmed up, he really opened up on the Pat Miletich-trained fighter. Gomi worked the body beautifully with punches and punished Pulver with knees in the clinch.

Pulver continued to fight valiantly in the face of heavy fire, but a left uppercut from the Japanese star planted him on the canvas for good 6:21 into the opening frame. Gomi would go on to win 10 of his next 12 fights, many of them ending inside one round, but, for many, his meeting with Pulver remains as good as it gets when it comes to lightweight standup action.

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