Akihiro Gono
Template:MMAstatsbox Akihiro Gono (郷野聡寛, Gōno Akihiro, born October 7, 1974 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights as a welterweight in the UFC. He is best known for his clever and deceptive fighting style, and for his flashy ring entrances. His fighting style is characterized by skillfully avoiding strikes, using fast counter punches and generally getting the opponent to fight his way. He is nicknamed the " Magic Man"[citation needed] for his ability to pull out bizarre submissions often when it looks like he has nothing available.[citation needed]
Biography
Akihiro Gono began fighting mixed martial arts in 1994, beginning with the Lumax Cup: Tournament of Japan '94. He would go on to fight in the Shooto organization, as well as Pancrase. He began fighting in Pride Bushido with Bushido 2 in 2004.
Mixed martial arts career
Gono holds wins over such fighters as Yuki Kondo, Ivan Salaverry, Crosley Gracie, Daniel Acacio, and Dae Won Kim. He has fought many tough opponents, with losses to such fighters as Mauricio Rua, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, and Yuki Kondo.
Gono began making his ring entrances in Pride FC more elaborate in 2006 with the creation of a character, DJ Gozma (a parody of Japanese musician DJ OZMA). The entrances have involved Gono wearing a vintage suit, including shoes, an orange wig, and accompanied by oddly dressed male dancers while the song age♂age♂EVERY☆Night by DJ OZMA plays in the background. Also, when the fighters are introduced in the ring, Gono drops his suit's pants to reveal zebra stripped fighting briefs.
UFC signing
Gono defeated Tamdan McCrory by verbal submission due to an Armbar at 3:19 of the second round. It was reported (first by Dave Meltzer) that he came out to his usual entrance with his DJ GOZMA persona.
Mixed martial arts record
28 wins (7 TKO's, 6 submissions, 14 decisions), 12 losses, 7 draws .
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win |  Tamdan McCrory
|
Submission (Armbar) | UFC 78: Validation | 11/17/2007 | 2 | 3:19 | Newark, New Jersey
|
Won Submission of the Night Honors |
| Win |  Yuki Kondo
|
Decision (Split) | PRIDE Shockwave 2006 | 12/31/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
| |
| Loss |  Denis Kang
|
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 13 | 11/5/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan
| |
| Win |  Gegard Mousasi
|
Submission (Armbar) | PRIDE Bushido 12 | 8/26/2006 | 2 | 4:24 | Nagoya, Japan
| |
| Win |  Hector Lombard
|
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 11 | 6/4/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
| |
| Win |  Dae Won Kim
|
Submission (Armbar) | PRIDE Bushido 10 | 4/2/2006 | 1 | 9:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Loss | Dan Henderson
|
KO (Punch) | PRIDE Bushido 9 | 09/25/2005 | 1 | 7:58 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win |  Daniel Acacio
|
Decision (Unaminous) | PRIDE Bushido 9 | 09/25/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Crosley Gracie
|
Decision | PRIDE Bushido 7 | 05/22/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Tim McKenzie
|
TKO (Strikes) | Pancrase - Brave 10 | 11/7/2004 | 2 | 2:53 | Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
| |
| Win | Tsuyoshi Kurihara
|
KO (Punch) | Pancrase - Brave 6 | 06/22/2004 | 1 | 2:15 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Loss | Mauricio Rua
|
TKO (soccer kicks) | PRIDE Bushido 2 | 02/15/2004 | 1 | 9:04 | Yokohama, Japan
| |
| Win | Nilson de Castro
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Pancrase - Hybrid 10 | 11/30/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Daisuke Watanabe
|
KO (Punch) | Pancrase - Hybrid 9 | 10/31/2003 | 2 | 3:49 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Nilson de Castro
|
DQ (Groin Strike) | Pancrase - 10th Anniversary Show | 08/31/2003 | 1 | 0:29 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Flavio Luiz Moura
|
Decision (Majority) | Pancrase - Hybrid 5 | 05/18/2003 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win |  Chris Haseman
|
Decision (Majority) | ZST 2 - The Battle Field 2 | 03/09/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Draw | Murilo Rua
|
Draw | Shooto: To The Top 4 | 5/1/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win | Ivan Salaverry
|
KO (Spinning Back Kick to the ribs.) | Shooto: To The Top 1 | 01/19/2001 | 1 | 3:06 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Win |  Andy Wang
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: R.E.A.D. 5 | 5/22/2000 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Draw | Larry Papadopoulos
|
Decision (Draw) | Shooto: R.E.A.D. 1 | 1/14/2000 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| Loss | Lance Gibson
|
Decision (Majority) | SB 13 - SuperBrawl 13 | 9/7/1999 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| |
| Loss | Matt Hughes
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - 10th Anniversary Event | 5/29/1999 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| |
| Loss | Kazunari Murakami
|
Decision | Lumax Cup - Tournament of J '96 | 3/30/1996 | 2 | 5:00 | Japan, Japan
| |
| Win | Tatsuharu Doi
|
Decision (Majority) | Daidojuku - WARS 3 | 2/17/1996 | 2 | 3:00 | Japan, Japan
| |
| Win | Kazunari Murakami
|
KO (Kick) | Lumax Cup - Tournament of J '95 | 10/13/1995 | 1 | 2:25 | Japan, Japan
| |
| Loss | Egan Inoue
|
Submission (Armbar) | Lumax Cup - Tournament of J '95 | 10/13/1995 | 1 | 1:33 | Japan, Japan
| |
| Loss | Yasunori Okuda
|
Submission (Toe Hold) | Lumax Cup - Tournament of J '94 | 4/23/1994 | 1 | 1:51 | Japan, Japan
|