When we talk about the ultimate bane of the Gracie clan’s existence, fingers automatically point to the inimitable Kazushi Sakuraba. But we all seem to forget about the one and only “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi, and that time he ended Ralph Gracie’s short-lived MMA run.
It happened at PRIDE Bushido 3 in 2004 in Yokohama. There was a bit of a storyline leading up to the bout as it was seven months after Gomi lost to Ralph’s student B.J. Penn.
The referee signals the start of the action and Ralph refuses to touch gloves. He shoots in with zero setups, eats a hard knee from Gomi, and drops to the canvas.