How have you been since your last fight with Satoru Kitaoka?
I [thought] you wanted to asked me about that fight. Of course, it would be nice if you tell me about that. As you saw, I couldn't do anything. I suppose fans who knew me since PRIDE considered that I looked like a totally different person. I don't even know why. I didn't feel any energy in the ring. After the fight, I felt like I was free. I thought I fulfilled my duty.
Do you mean that you resigned [as a representative] of the top lightweight fighter?
I suppose so. I haven't proven myself the last few fights. I was training, yet everything has fallen apart. I couldn't put together because my training wasn't enough. My skills went down in the last 2 years. I experienced a lot in the last 2 years. I quit Kiguchi [Dojo] without thinking well, and started my gym. I felt responsibility to take care of my students, and I was passive about my fight. I was just waiting and see who I fought with.
More of the translated interview from Kakutogitsushin over at MMA Fighting. Gomi admits to undertraining, says he was "completely dominated" by Kitaoka to the point where he may not even deserve a rematch, and generally sounds pretty downtrodden.
It's interesting to note that - at least in the translated portion of the interview - Gomi doesn't address when or if he'll fight next for World Victory Road. On his blog earlier this month, he cited attending UFC 94 as a major motivation to return to training. "I think I found something very important in this trip," Gomi wrote. Then, five days later: "Please look forward to seeing me coming back to the ring patiently."
Gomi has long been considered a fighter who had no need to seek fights outside of Japan. (Then again, so was Yoshihiro Akiyama.) But with his recent run of luck and the lack of immediate challengers for B.J. Penn in the lightweight division, one could argue there's never been a better time for Gomi to consider making a jump stateside
