Momose was born in 1940, at Yanagibashi in Tokyo - a district known for restaurants, geisha houses and brothels since the Edo period - as second son of a local mob boss named Umetaro. Perhaps he inherited some of dad's genes, Momose became a bodyguard for a nightclub called "New Latin Quarter" in Roppongi at the tender age of 19. This was a kickin n swingin, famous kinda joint among Japan's pro-wrestling fans, because this was where Rikidozan, the ex-sumo wrestler who started Japan's pro-wrestling industry, was stabbed to death. A bit morbid I suppose. Anyways, in another unrelated instance, at age 28, Momose turned himself in to the cops double fisted, a gun in each hand. He then spent six contemplative years in prison. (Back then, Japan's gun control laws were extremely strict, unlike in Ted Nugent's America)

After being released from the slammer, he stopped by at Sendai-city to eat deep fried pork fillet, and then went right back into a few years in the "sandpaper-business," roughing-people-up. He was basically a so-called collector, mobster, thug. His daily operations were things like, chasing down a vanished ex-member of the board of education who embezzled over a million dollars from the golf course development project, or paying a visit to a business owner who refused to pay his tab.

Momose, who spent at least seven hours a day reading while behind bars, was however not the type of man who would just end up being a regular type of mob star. He didn't just want to be another Tony Montana, "Gusano Mobster." Instead, he became a poet. Like Pablo Neruda. Or perhaps more fittingly, Gene Genet. Momose, all of sudden, had checked out of the "thug's life" and published a book of poems, followed by a weekly essay column called "Delinquent's Note" for Shuukan Bunshun - Japan's biggest selling weekly magazine - establishing his place in Japan's publishing society as a first-rate writer / poet. See, the U.S. isn't the only place where crooks can come clean, write a book and maintain a celebrity status, or become president for that matter.

Obviously, Momose is really more than just a writer / poet. Everything about him was revealed to the public when his autobiography titled "The Phantom of Pride" came out in the winter of 2002. Finally, the public got the real deal on the man always sitting next to Inoki wearing a baseball cap that reads "Forever Young at Heart." Kinda chilling, eh!

He is, in his own words, a strategic planner for many businesses and individuals including Dream Stage Entertainment, the company that runs Pride. Momose achieved this peculiar but very powerful status in this society, partly because of his vast network. From his father's friends, to his master's, during his sumo wrestling days at Rikkyo University. Then there were the many celebrities he met at "New Latin Quarter" including the late legendary actor Yujiro Ishihara (an older brother of the current governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishiahara). He was also a business partner to more than just a few big-time players in the securities market. And of course, there are his jail buddies and other sorted acquaintances during his years as a "negotiator."

Momose is the man. He has connections, sources, and most importantly, experience. So what exactly is he to the world of MMA? Well, the fact that he is the one who came up with the first 50 million yen to start Dream Stage Entertainment. This is according to his comments in Shuukan Bunshun's report regarding the suicide of Naoto Morishita, ex-president of the company. This tells pretty much everything about his place in the industry. It is fair to presume this guy is behind many tricks and deals in today's MMA but oddly enough, he is almost never mentioned anywhere outside Japan. Sure, Momose is not the president or the executive producer of Dream Stage Entertainment but he could be the most powerful man in the organization.

Which takes us back to Howlin Wolf. This practice maybe not too familiar for people in the states but in Japan, the public is used to seeing this type of situation. That is, the most powerful man in the organization being someone other than the president. This is actually very common in the Japanese business world. It's full of "back door men." Basically, The Don, "Il Capo de tutti Capo" is not always the man with the highest title. This is the reason why Momose's position, in the world of MMA, is easily recognized and accepted by the Japanese public, and this also is probably the reason why he is being ignored by the media outside Japan.

But Momose definitely does control a huge chunk of territory in the map called professional MMA. Everybody knows this ex-mob turned writer / poet is one of the key men behind the success of Pride, the biggest MMA event in the world. However, he is not so visible, yet he is not invisible, and that maybe is the reason why people call him The Phantom of Pride.