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« | Home | »

Takanori Gomi headed to WVR

By Zach Arnold | January 30, 2008

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World Victory Road announced today (at a press conference) that Takanori Gomi is booked for the promotion’s debut show on 3/5 in Tokyo at Yoyogi National Stadium Gym I.

Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 55 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

55 Responses to “Takanori Gomi headed to WVR”

  1. Jonathan says:

    This is awesome news! I wonder who his opponent is?

  2. white ninja says:

    no surprise there

    his shady management wouldnt be able to do a deal with K1 and it seems Gomi wasnt too keen on UFC

  3. ilostmydog says:

    I doubt anyone would have paid him as much as WVR did. Jordan Breen is saying he’s getting $190k a fight. Hopefully they grab some of the better free agent LWs floating around and give him a challenge. Breen also said that Rodrigo Damm and Fabricio Monteiro were rumoured opponents, which doesn’t appeal to me at all.

  4. sebastian says:

    Makes a whole lot of sense. Sherdog adds that he’ll make $190k per bout. Doesn’t sound like an extreme number, but the UFC would have to go abit higher than that to match other opportunities for a guy like Gomi in Japan.

    Remains to be seen what’ll come out of WVR. I wouldn’t mind seeing a more extensive report by Zach on the site.

  5. Paul Carroll says:

    Gomi’s management is shady because … ??

  6. Dave says:

    “Makes a whole lot of sense. Sherdog adds that he’ll make $190k per bout. Doesn’t sound like an extreme number, but the UFC would have to go abit higher than that to match other opportunities for a guy like Gomi in Japan.”

    Yeah, and really, there is no way that UFC would pay Gomi that much. That is like Randy Couture money for them. I’m sure most of us would love to see Gomi fight in UFC (or WEC

  7. Jordan Breen says:

    Gomi was being handled by Ken Imai, who is a pretty shady dude. From what I know, Kohoku of J-ROCK and Kawamata were able to get Gomi away from Imai. Imai was supposedly asking around 200-300K a fight for Gomi.

    The number I was given was in USD. If I had to guess, I’d assume Gomi’s deal is 20 million yen per fight, which comes out to like 188,000 per fight or soemthing.

    WVR waited to announce it till late this week because they were hoping to have Gomi’s opponent finalized but they can’t reach a reasonable consensus. WVR is having a lot of difficulty with this side of the promotion because J-ROCK are doing all the legwork and they have no promotional experience, and this is where the growing pains are evident. Damm’s management is lobbying hard for him, Monteiro is signed and has been considered, but I’ve been told that as of Thursday morning they aren’t leaning towards anyone specific.

  8. Michaelthebox says:

    190k! No wonder he didn’t come to terms with the UFC. I’d be surprised if they offered him half that per bout.

  9. Ultimo Santa says:

    UFC offering Gomi half that? PLEASE – if they offered him a penny over $40k a fight I would pass out from shock.

    If you don’t agree, check the payouts from the last couple PPVs, and see the list of guys who get less than $40k to show.

    It’s a looooong list.

  10. Dave2 says:

    I already knew from the beginning that Gomi wouldn’t sign with the UFC. It’s funny that some people actually thought this was possible. Gomi is a superstar in Japan and can fetch serious money over there. However in the US he is unknown and Zuffa has a track record of low balling fighters and being cheap.

    UFC is not the place to be if you are Japanese (unless your name is Okami. No big Japanese org wants to hire him because he’s not entertaining enough) or a Japanese-based lightweight (ie. Joachim Hansen, JZ Calvancante, Shaolin Ribeiro, etc.) The UFC may get a hold of the likes of Nakamura, Chonan and Gono but they have to put a lot more money on the table to get the greater Japanese stars.

  11. cyphron says:

    So Ultimo is saying that Gomi is equivalent to the undercard fighters fighting in the UFC? I agree, Gomi isn’t that elite to be demanding 190k.

  12. Zack says:

    “I agree, Gomi isn’t that elite to be demanding 190k.”

    Gomi is the most elite at LW in the world. Who has a better record than him?

  13. Michaelthebox says:

    Better record? Sherk.

    Better competition? Penn.

    Better recent results? A dozen fighters.

    The UFC would have paid good money for Gomi, he’s a hella exciting fighter and you know they’d love to unify the belts. But Gomi carries way too much risk now to give him a top-flight contract.

  14. ilostmydog says:

    Say what you will about how the UFC pays fighters, but they’ve been more than generous to stars of the former Pride organization.

    Mirko CroCop – $350k (UFC 67)
    Rampage – $170k (67), $225k (71)
    Nogueira – $200k
    Heath Herring – $60k (against Jake), $70k (against Nog)
    Shogun – $150k
    Marcus Aurelio – $30k/$30k
    Sokoudjou – $40k/$40k
    Wanderlei Silva -$150k

  15. Zack says:

    “Better record? Sherk.

    Better competition? Penn.”

    These two criteria have to combine. You have to have wins over top competion. Sherk has a great padded record. Penn has fought lots of the best in the world (many out of the weight class we’re discussing.)

    Under your criteria, Jason Reindhart has a better record (padded record with cans) and so does Hiromitsu Kanehara (fought Yuki Kondo, Shogun, Allistar, Mirko, Wand, Hughes, Arona, Big Nog, Sperry, Hendo, & Horn – and didn’t he even beat a guy who beat Couture?)

  16. ET says:

    Michaelthebox: you are an idiot.

    At LW noone has as good a record as GOmi, most SHerk’s fights are at 170 and his record is HEAVILY padded. BJ’s biggest wins were at 170 and he hasn’t fought a great deal of top LWs,especially recently.

    Gomi has fought, beat and stopped more top LWs than anyone else, that is an undeniable fact.

  17. Michaelthebox says:

    Blah, blah, blah.

    LW is the one single division where nobody really knows how good the competition is. Gomi is #1 LW by default, not by any degree of dominance over a standardized field of top competition. Penn is probably a better fighter, Sherk might be, as might Calvancante. Gomi’s a hell of a fighter, but paying him based on his past results completely ignores the fact that the makeup of LW competition in the past is nothing like the LW competition now.

  18. Zack says:

    I couldn’t care less about MMA rankings, since it’s impossible to rank dudes when the best STILL don’t fight the best (outside of Pride’s old LW class & UFC’s WW class.)

    The only point was you said Gomi wasn’t elite enough to demand 190k, and I simply stated that Gomi is the most decorated LW in MMA history, based on his record and the top 10 guys at the time who he beat. Losses to Auerellio (avenged in a shithouse fight, similar to Sylvia winning the swing bout with AA) & Diaz don’t change his past wins, just like Chuck & GSP’s losses this year don’t diminish theirs.

    Of course Sherk & BJ (and possibly Edgar/T Griffin/etc) could beat lots of the top LW’s, but its hard to rank them towards the top when they haven’t beaten them. Rankings shouldn’t be a gauge on skill or the organization you’re in, they should be based on wins/losses and the degree of competition.

  19. Zack says:

    “Gomi is #1 LW by default, not by any degree of dominance over a standardized field of top competition.”

    The standardized field of competition was the Bushido LW tournament. UFC had completely scrapped their LW division. The Bushido tournament included Jens Pulver (the last UFC LW champ) and Yves Edwards (the guy who many felt was the uncrowned LW champ after his win over Thompson @ UFC 49.) It also had Kawajiri, the Shooto champ, who had no unavenged losses.

    Lots of dudes careers were iced in 2007, and hopefully every one will be able to be more active in 2008.

  20. Ultimo Santa says:

    “elite enough to demand 190k”? LOL

    There seems to be a disconnect between certain hardcore, online MMA fans, and the reality of how UFC does business.

    I’ll let you in on a little secret: Dana White doesn’t give a flaming crap about having the ‘best fight the best’. He wants to:

    a) sell PPVs
    b) help his friends
    c) smite his enemies
    d) pay fighters as little as possible

    THAT’S IT.

    Gomi IS good enough to fight in the UFC, and he’s exciting enough to entertain the crowd, but he has drawbacks: not speaking English which makes him less marketable, not being a personal friend of Dana, and the big problem, wanting to actually be paid for his fights = NO CONTRACT.

  21. So wait, the WVR is paying its top stars on a similar scale as the UFC. Why isn’t anyone complaining that the WVR doesn’t give a crap about its fighters and promoting the brand over the sport. 😉

  22. cyphron says:

    Well, I’m glad you don’t hate Dana White and your feelings are neutral.

    I’m sure World Victory Road will now put on Gomi VS the best in the world and M-1 will now put on Fedor VS the best in the world.

    Say what you will about Dana White, but he does put on fights that everyone want to see. Hell, I’m intrigued as hell about the Mir VS Lesnar fight. But most of you will never admit that because you can’t see anything past your hate of Dana White and the UFC.

  23. cyphron says:


    Gomi has fought, beat and stopped more top LWs than anyone else, that is an undeniable fact.

    Cue Nick Diaz and cue BJ Penn. You mean these two are not top lightweights?

    Your definition of top LWs are my definition of cans that were Pride gave him to crush. Whenever Gomi fights top competition, he got destroyed. Even that “revenge” win with Marcus Aurelio was a gift decision since he’s Pride’s boy. Gomi’s ranking is an illusion.

  24. The Gaijin says:

    “Hell, I’m intrigued as hell about the Mir VS Lesnar fight. But most of you will never admit that because you can’t see anything past your hate of Dana White and the UFC.”

    I don’t think anyone’s denying they’re intrigued by this fight, but to say that it’s from anything more than a “freakshow” interest in seeing how a WWE wrestler would do in MMA is ridiculous. It’s just funny that people bitch and act indignant about “freakshow” fights from PRIDE, but try to make this out to be far more legitimate.

  25. The Gaijin says:

    “So wait, the WVR is paying its top stars on a similar scale as the UFC. Why isn’t anyone complaining that the WVR doesn’t give a crap about its fighters and promoting the brand over the sport.”

    Is WVR the #1 MMA organization worldwide, with established PPV revenues etc.?

    strawman city.

  26. Zack says:

    “Cue Nick Diaz and cue BJ Penn. You mean these two are not top lightweights?”

    ND & BJ are both highly skilled LWs who have the talent to beat anyone on any given day.

    “Your definition of top LWs are my definition of cans that were Pride gave him to crush. Whenever Gomi fights top competition, he got destroyed.”

    If you think Kawajiri, Ishida, Sakurai, Azeredo, Pulver, Ralph Gracie, Mishimi (before his decline), and Rumina Sato (in 2001) are cans, then you have no idea what you’re talking about.

  27. Dave2 says:

    “Mirko CroCop – $350k (UFC 67)
    Rampage – $170k (67), $225k (71)
    Nogueira – $200k
    Heath Herring – $60k (against Jake), $70k (against Nog)
    Shogun – $150k
    Marcus Aurelio – $30k/$30k
    Sokoudjou – $40k/$40k
    Wanderlei Silva -$150k”

    Nogueira is on a $100k/$100k deal. He doesn’t get $200k flat.
    Shogun and Wand are both on $150k/$100k I think (at least I know Shogun is) so they would have had $250k if they won. Btw what were Nogueira, Wand and Shogun making in PRIDE in the first place? I would be very surprised if Wand and Nogueira made that low in PRIDE. We do know that Cro Cop made less in PRIDE though that may have been cost-cutting after losing Fuji TV. Cro Cop was a mega celebrity in Japan so it’s hard to think that in PRIDE’s heyday he was making less than $350k.

  28. ilostmydog says:

    What would make you suspect that those salaries wouldn’t be comparable to what Nog and Wand were making in Pride?

  29. Ultimo_Santa says:

    I wasn’t commenting on the business practices of other organizations (all of which generate far less money than the UFC, as Gaijin pointed out).

    I was only stating the reality there is a disconnect between what some online fans THINK is happening, and what happens in reality.

    If the UFC was hellbent on having ‘the best fight the best’, then this weekend we’d be seeing Fedor vs. Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Title, not the #2 guys they each beat fighting it out for some bullplop interim belt.

    But, having ‘the best fight the best’ costs money – and keeping salaries low, more often that not, is priority #1.

  30. cyphron says:

    Pride 33 salaries:

    Wanderlei Silva: $150,000
    -Dan Henderson: $50,000
    -Mauricio “Shogun” Rua: $50,000
    -Takanori Gomi: $20,000
    -Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $20,000
    -Nick Diaz: $15,000
    -Joachim Hansen: $15,000
    -Hayato Sakurai: $10,000
    -Frank Trigg: $10,000
    -Kazuo Misaki: $10,000
    -Sergei Kharitonov: $10,000
    -Alistair Overeem: $10,000
    -Travis Wiuff: $10,000
    -Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $10,000
    -Mac Danzig: $10,000
    -Jason Ireland: $10,000
    -Mike Russow: $10,000
    -James Lee: $10,000

    Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $430,000

    Gosh, Pride pays alot! Continue your misguided beliefs that UFC underpays and all other organization overpays.

  31. sprewellrimz says:

    Most of those guys are paid under the table, especially the big stars. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them were on salary, which I know Sakuraba is with HERO*s.

  32. cyphron says:

    I knew exactly that would be your rebuttal. So if you accept that Pride pays under the table, why can’t you guys accept that the UFC pays under the table? Even Randy Couture has said as much. And the Fertittas defended it by saying that back-room deals are reported to the IRS.

    Alas, UFC = bad, Pride = good.

  33. sprewellrimz says:

    When did I say the UFC didn’t pay under the table?

    And anyways, no one really knows how much PRIDE’s fighters made. They walked out of those arenas with bags full of cash- no checks. I guess there’s no official record.

  34. Dave2 says:

    Cyprhon, those PRIDE figures are a joke and you know it. There’s no way Fedor got only $100k for PRIDE 32. DSE = Yakuza. The fighters were paid full in cash just like they do in the mob. I remember reading that Mauro Ranallo was paid once with a paperbag full of cash. Gotta love the Yakuza. As for the Fertittas, they pay out discretionary bonuses when they feel like it and that is reported income (unless the Fertittas happen to be mafia or something :D). It’s not like PRIDE where they pay out guys completely in cash and subsequently screwing the Japanese (and US for 32 and 33) government out of tax money.

    “What would make you suspect that those salaries wouldn’t be comparable to what Nog and Wand were making in Pride?”
    Gomi is making freakin $188,000 US a fight from WVR. Wand and Nogueira were bigger stars than Gomi. That says it all with regards to how much the guys get paid in Japan.

  35. cyphron says:

    Pride’s reported payment is not real… but we should criticize the UFC’s reported payment because everything is true. The Fertittas and Dana White are mobsters except when it comes to reported payments, then it’s truthful in all aspects. Talk about selective reasonings.

  36. Dave2 says:

    Pride’s reported payment isn’t real because they paid out the remainder in dirty cash. The UFC’s reported payment doesn’t include the FOTN/etc. bonuses, PPV figures for certain stars and the “discretionary bonuses” that the UFC will give out when they feel like it to some of their top fighters or guys who pull out an exceptional performance (ie. Jardine vs Chuck).

    With the PRIDE guys, their reported income in the UFC (plus any bonuses the y get from Fight of the night/ko of the night/etc) is probably close to what they actually get with a few exceptions (ie. Wand probably gets a PPV cut vs. the Chuck match. If not then he is being robbed). Cro Cop isn’t getting a PPV bonus so he’s really taking home $245k to Croatia a fight (30% of his $350k goes to Uncle Sam). Big Nog and Shogun most likely don’t have PPV bonuses so they probably took home about $200k and $150k respectively. And Wand probably only gets a PPV cut for the Chuck fight. From here on out, he probably doesn’t get a PPV bonus. As Meltzer and others pointed out, the UFC is moving away from the PPV percentage model and is moving towards larger base pay (ie. Cro Cop case). And the “discretionary bonuses” aren’t something you can rely on. You just get them when they feel like giving it.

  37. Dave2 says:

    Also an interesting thing to note with the UFC’s bonus practices. Randy Couture has said on the record that he’s received “off-the-books locker room bonuses” before from the UFC and of course, he didn’t feel like he got “respect” for not getting one on an occassion. But Dana White was quick to say in the media that the UFC doesn’t pay out “locker room bonuses” and says that no legitimate company does that. Makes the UFC look suspicious.

  38. Dave2 says:

    Disregard my comment in 37. I got a quote from Dana White on a website that suggested the UFC denied giving out locker bonuses but I found that quote within a greater context in another website, which shows that Dana does admit to writing out on-the-books tax-payable bonus checks in locker rooms for fighters who have exceptional performances. He was just simply denying that it was off-the-books. My point still stands that the PRIDE fighters in the UFC aren’t getting much more than what is reported to the NSAC though since they don’t get PPV cuts and discretionary bonuses are here and there when the UFC feels like it, not a regular thing. That pay system is really dodgy. The bonuses are nice when the fighters get them but they can’t come to rely on them because they are given out at a whim.

  39. ilostmydog says:

    Yeah, poor guys are just going to have to make due by making $100k+ per fight. I’m sure glad I’m not in such a terrible position. They are very hard done by. :p

  40. Dave2 says:

    I didn’t say I felt sorry for these PRIDE guys making only $100-250k a fight. 😉 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’d rather see the pay go up for guys on the low to mid end of the scale before I see the pay go up on the top. The top guys should be paid more if some other promotion is a threat to take away their services though (ie. Arlovski case. I also don’t like the handling of the Tito case but I don’t think Tito is going to get a bigger payday outside the UFC, unlike Arlovski. Tito is much more expensive to rival promotions and that’s going to hurt his chances in the free agent market.)

    On one hand, fighting is not your normal 9-5 job. You don’t get 40+ years to make money. You have to make that money within a short window of 10 or so years (maybe more if you aren’t banged up or just that damn good). If a top fighter is making six figures a fight, they can pad a pretty nice pension plan (especially in a poor country like Brazil) if they are smart.

  41. Is WVR the #1 MMA organization worldwide, with established PPV revenues etc.?

    strawman city.

    So because the UFC is the #1 org, they should be paying purses that are astronomically higher than their competition and what the market dictates? Most people agree that UFC pays more than their competitors already so what’s the problem? My point with Gomi’s pay is that its an open market and fighters (whether it is in US or Japan) are getting paid more or less their market value and the UFC is in line with that.

  42. Dave2 says:

    “they should be paying purses that are astronomically higher than their competition and what the market dictates?”

    Last I checked, the UFC didn’t offer Gomi more money than their competition, let alone match it.

    “My point with Gomi’s pay is that its an open market and fighters (whether it is in US or Japan) are getting paid more or less their market value and the UFC is in line with that.”

    So whatever the UFC offers, it’s automatically open market gospel? The world doesn’t revolve around the UFC. In Japan, Gomi’s worth is a lot stronger than in the United States and that’s why the UFC probably isn’t offering him more than a cent above $40,000. Don’t make it out like Gomi is being over-paid above market value because the market just isn’t the same worldwide. He’s worth $190,000 USD in Japan. The world doesn’t revolve around America and it doesn’t revolve around the UFC.

  43. Dave2 says:

    Wait, nevermind my first comment on post 42. I thought you were talking about Gomi there but really you were comparing what top fighters in WVR were getting paid and what they were getting in the UFC.

  44. cyphron says:


    In Japan, Gomi’s worth is a lot stronger than in the United States and that’s why the UFC probably isn’t offering him more than a cent above $40,000.

    You just proved his point for him there.

  45. Dave2 says:

    And I love all the market talk as if it’s some sort of holy gospel. Newsflash: If we truly had a free market, you’d have citizens (not just illegal immigrants, who are horribly exploited) in the United States working for less than $5.15 an hour. The “free market” is lovely isn’t it?

    Markets in a first-world society need regulation to ensure that workers have livable standards and I don’t see how MMA should be any different. I don’t see what’s fair about having fighters not only work 9-5 to support themselves but also to balance that with training. This leaves little time for sleep and they have to take care of benefits for themselves and everything. The UFC made 20% profit last year with revenues over $200 million. A lot of these guys in fighting are being exploited. You can call me a commie for exposing what the libertarian circle jerk of markets really is. Out of human compassion, how can one not see this exploitation to be evil? Everyday in corporate America, this evil continues to perpetuate in the name of “free market values” while greedy corporations get kickbacks from the government. Poor workers making unlivable wages (which can barely pay for crap), illegal immigrants and a good chunk of the UFC roster are being exploited in the name of corporate greed.

  46. Dave2 says:

    It just boggles my mind how middle-class self-styled libertarians/republicans can speak gloriously about the joys of the free market while the fighters they watch on TV have to balance two full-time jobs basically (their day job and training/fighting) with sleep, health care, etc. until they get broken down in old age, while immigrants pick the strawberries for them in the fields in California for $2/hr and the single mother working at Wal-Mart for crap has to put up with this rhetoric. Humans are social beings and this kind of radical free market thought is anti-social and this anti-social mindset drives corporate greed and is ruining countless lives. It’s sick how people can think like this while watching the exploited workers provide them a service (whether it be fighting for entertainment, strawberries or customer service at Wal-Mart).

  47. cyphron says:

    Whoa…That’s an epic meltdown right there.

  48. D. Capitated says:

    [quote]So because the UFC is the #1 org, they should be paying purses that are astronomically higher than their competition and what the market dictates? Most people agree that UFC pays more than their competitors already so what’s the problem? [/quote]

    The UFC should be paying their headliners their value, otherwise they face the possibility of headliners leaving, which seems to be happening. I know we had this argument already, but I’m not sure how much more black and white it can be.

    As for them paying more than their competitors, those statements are kinda funny. Nick Diaz and Jake Shields make more for EliteXC than most of the dudes in the UFC. Period. A guy like Karo Parisyan has been #1 contender and has beaten the current champion and he’s not anywhere near a title shot at the moment for all the work he’s done. Plus guys like Shields are banking more money than he is. If you don’t think that when Karo’s contract has a fight left that he won’t ask for a lot more at the bargaining table, you’re kinda crazy. If you expect Dana to start altruistically start offering nice deals, you’re really nieve.

  49. The UFC should be paying their headliners their value, otherwise they face the possibility of headliners leaving, which seems to be happening. I know we had this argument already, but I’m not sure how much more black and white it can be.

    I actually agree with this statement overall. Where our opinions differ is what that value amounts to. Most UFC haters think that UFC vastly underpays its fighters based on its profits without knowing its expenses while I tend to believe that the open market will ultimately prevail. Meaning that if someone else thinks they can pay the fighter more and still run a profitable show, it will ultimately happen.

    If the UFC loses more fighters because they aren’t matching the fighter’s open market value, then I would agree that they are fools. But this so far has only happened with Randy and most people seem to agree that Randy was being compenstated fairly well. And this is something that will ultimately correct itself (beauty of captialism at work), because if other orgs are willing to step up in pay, the UFC will be forced to elevate their pay scales as well.

  50. Dave2 says:

    “I actually agree with this statement overall. Where our opinions differ is what that value amounts to. Most UFC haters think that UFC vastly underpays its fighters based on its profits without knowing its expenses while I tend to believe that the open market will ultimately prevail. Meaning that if someone else thinks they can pay the fighter more and still run a profitable show, it will ultimately happen.”

    A lot of UFC fans on the internet over-rated the amount of profit the UFC pulls in. But MMApayout has the figures for all to look at. They made an estimated $40+ million pre-tax profit in 2007. That’s 20% for over $200+ million in revenues. In 2006, they had $76 million pre-tax profit. So the answer is somewhere in the middle. The UFC isn’t raking in huge profits but they’re profits are still very good in relation to most profitable corporations out there. Just like how some UFC fans over-rated the amount of profit the UFC makes, I think some of you are making a huge deal about the S&P credit rating. Don’t let that rating fool you. If you read the report, it will tell you that Zuffa is doing very well. Just not as well as before because of the increased operating costs and the huge amount of money they needlessly blew in the UK.

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