Gomi's Final Fight in Japan?
Tony Loiseleur Sep 15, 2009
TOKYO -- Just after leading Shooto promoter Sustain announced their
first official participants for Vale Tudo Japan 2009, Sherdog.com
caught up with Takanori
Gomi once again for a quick Q&A.
“The Fireball Kid” gave his thoughts on his foiled Affliction debut, how his new hobby in surfing will (marginally) affect his MMA career, his final fight in Japan, fighting five rounds in preparation to head stateside, and disputes a recent report from Fighters Only magazine quoting the fighter as saying he’d sit out the rest of 2009 in expectation of his first child.
Sherdog: It was recently reported in Fighters
Only magazine that you didn’t expect to fight for the rest of this
year because you and your future wife were expecting your first
child.
Gomi: (Laughing) Yeah, I wish that it was for real. I don’t know how the hell those stories came about, but it’s not true.
Gomi: No, there was no interview at all about that. It’s not true at all.
Sherdog: So you’re not expecting a child and, of course, you’re fighting in Vale Tudo Japan 2009 later this year, correct?
Gomi: Hmm, well, I’d like to have a kid. But… I don’t even have a partner for that yet. (Laughs)
Sherdog: Most fans outside Japan were looking forward to you participating in Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1 against Rafaello Oliveira before the event was abruptly cancelled. What were your immediate thoughts after the event fell through?
Gomi: There are things that happen that you can’t really expect a lot of the times. It’s just the nature of the business, and in the business of MMA, it’s something that needs to be worked on so that fans can be assured of the health of the fighters and the smooth running of events.
I found out about it a week before the event, and it was right in the middle of my hard training, so it was really rough for me. Promoters should let fighters know well ahead of time, and not just right before. That’s a problem that really needs to be overcome in general in the MMA industry, I think.
Sherdog: Did you see this fight in Vale Tudo Japan as an opportunity to get back into the picture since the Affliction fight fell through? Were you very eager to get back into the fight with VTJ?
Gomi: Well, like I said earlier, I just rolled into surfing and picked that up as a new hobby. Vale Tudo Japan though, that’s an event with a lot of history, and I got the invite to it in a very polite, (a) very nice manner. It’s possibly my last fight in Japan, and I want to fight my heart out in it.
Sherdog: Speaking of surfing, it seems to me like you’ve been training for it for your entire MMA career. Every time you win, you get up on the turnbuckles, balancing like you’re surfing. Were you training secretly for surfing all this time?
Gomi: Yeah, yeah, yeah!!! (Laughing) I actually never really trained to do that, but well… If I can surf and win in MMA, no one’s going to work out. But yeah, I definitely won’t fall off the turnbuckle so easily anymore. But yeah, I’m going to endure not surfing for a little while just to focus on serious training for MMA.
Sherdog: Now that Affliction is gone, that leaves fewer options for you if you do want to go stateside. Right now, the two biggest promotions are the UFC and Strikeforce. Have you decided on which you’d like to head toward?
Gomi: The UFC is an event with a very rich history and is the best event in the world today. I respect them very much. But, I’m going to think about all that after my fight in VTJ is done. I’ll make my decision on where to go only after I’m done here.
Sherdog: Are you looking to fight a five-round fight in VTJ, seeing as that’s built into the rules for title fights in the states?
Gomi: Yeah, bit by bit, no matter how much name value I have, experience is what counts the most in fighting. I’d like to experiment if possible, and if I can fight five rounds in VTJ, that’d be tremendous and invaluable experience for me. There’s a difference between me thinking that I can fight five rounds and actually experiencing it and whether I can or not, before going to the States.
Sherdog: Tell us a little bit about your training for this bout. Are you still reserving it to training in your gym with your students?
Gomi: Yeah, for this month, I’m training in my own gym, working on my bases of wrestling and boxing. Next month, I’m going to head out for the month to train in other gyms and get in a lot of sparring.
Sherdog: Any gyms in particular that you’re looking to hit up?
Gomi: Not yet, I haven’t decided where.
Sherdog: But a lot of sparring, with different pros and such?
Gomi: Yeah, certainly. But I still want to get a lot of work in with my basics than anything else.
Sherdog: Any message for the English-speaking fans, or another shoutout to Dana White this time?
Gomi: I’d like to fight well in Vale Tudo Japan, and what lies ahead is probably the United States. But, I’d like to think of that only when Vale Tudo Japan is over.
Sherdog: That said, thank you for your time and best of luck in October.
Gomi: Thank you very much!
“The Fireball Kid” gave his thoughts on his foiled Affliction debut, how his new hobby in surfing will (marginally) affect his MMA career, his final fight in Japan, fighting five rounds in preparation to head stateside, and disputes a recent report from Fighters Only magazine quoting the fighter as saying he’d sit out the rest of 2009 in expectation of his first child.
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Gomi: (Laughing) Yeah, I wish that it was for real. I don’t know how the hell those stories came about, but it’s not true.
Sherdog: Did anyone talk to you at all about
that?
Gomi: No, there was no interview at all about that. It’s not true at all.
Sherdog: So you’re not expecting a child and, of course, you’re fighting in Vale Tudo Japan 2009 later this year, correct?
Gomi: Hmm, well, I’d like to have a kid. But… I don’t even have a partner for that yet. (Laughs)
Sherdog: Most fans outside Japan were looking forward to you participating in Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1 against Rafaello Oliveira before the event was abruptly cancelled. What were your immediate thoughts after the event fell through?
Gomi: There are things that happen that you can’t really expect a lot of the times. It’s just the nature of the business, and in the business of MMA, it’s something that needs to be worked on so that fans can be assured of the health of the fighters and the smooth running of events.
I found out about it a week before the event, and it was right in the middle of my hard training, so it was really rough for me. Promoters should let fighters know well ahead of time, and not just right before. That’s a problem that really needs to be overcome in general in the MMA industry, I think.
Sherdog: Did you see this fight in Vale Tudo Japan as an opportunity to get back into the picture since the Affliction fight fell through? Were you very eager to get back into the fight with VTJ?
Gomi: Well, like I said earlier, I just rolled into surfing and picked that up as a new hobby. Vale Tudo Japan though, that’s an event with a lot of history, and I got the invite to it in a very polite, (a) very nice manner. It’s possibly my last fight in Japan, and I want to fight my heart out in it.
Sherdog: Speaking of surfing, it seems to me like you’ve been training for it for your entire MMA career. Every time you win, you get up on the turnbuckles, balancing like you’re surfing. Were you training secretly for surfing all this time?
Gomi: Yeah, yeah, yeah!!! (Laughing) I actually never really trained to do that, but well… If I can surf and win in MMA, no one’s going to work out. But yeah, I definitely won’t fall off the turnbuckle so easily anymore. But yeah, I’m going to endure not surfing for a little while just to focus on serious training for MMA.
Sherdog: Now that Affliction is gone, that leaves fewer options for you if you do want to go stateside. Right now, the two biggest promotions are the UFC and Strikeforce. Have you decided on which you’d like to head toward?
Gomi: The UFC is an event with a very rich history and is the best event in the world today. I respect them very much. But, I’m going to think about all that after my fight in VTJ is done. I’ll make my decision on where to go only after I’m done here.
Sherdog: Are you looking to fight a five-round fight in VTJ, seeing as that’s built into the rules for title fights in the states?
Gomi: Yeah, bit by bit, no matter how much name value I have, experience is what counts the most in fighting. I’d like to experiment if possible, and if I can fight five rounds in VTJ, that’d be tremendous and invaluable experience for me. There’s a difference between me thinking that I can fight five rounds and actually experiencing it and whether I can or not, before going to the States.
Sherdog: Tell us a little bit about your training for this bout. Are you still reserving it to training in your gym with your students?
Gomi: Yeah, for this month, I’m training in my own gym, working on my bases of wrestling and boxing. Next month, I’m going to head out for the month to train in other gyms and get in a lot of sparring.
Sherdog: Any gyms in particular that you’re looking to hit up?
Gomi: Not yet, I haven’t decided where.
Sherdog: But a lot of sparring, with different pros and such?
Gomi: Yeah, certainly. But I still want to get a lot of work in with my basics than anything else.
Sherdog: Any message for the English-speaking fans, or another shoutout to Dana White this time?
Gomi: I’d like to fight well in Vale Tudo Japan, and what lies ahead is probably the United States. But, I’d like to think of that only when Vale Tudo Japan is over.
Sherdog: That said, thank you for your time and best of luck in October.
Gomi: Thank you very much!
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