I came up with many different strategies for this fight. The fight developed just as I expected. I watched how the striking exchange went, looked for an opening, took him down and used my jujitsu to fight my own fight.
Pride:
How did it feel to punch with Gomi?
Aurelio:
Honestly, it wasn't the kind of exchange that would make me feel anything. I heard that trading with him would be dangerous but I didn't see anything like that in our fight.
Pride:
Did you find his weakness when you were coming up with strategies for him?
Aurelio:
Gomi is supposed to be number one so I tried to shut down his strengths and attack his weaknesses. I'm better on the ground so that's where I took it. I was able to use the strengths of my team in this fight.
Pride:
When did you become confident that you would win?
Aurelio:
I fought the number one guy this time but I never thought of anything but winning, so there never really was any time when I suddenly became confident.
Pride:
Today's match was a non-title match. Do you want to fight him again for the title?
Aurelio:
Of course, I will get the title. I've said it before. I wasn't able to compete in the last Grand Prix but if I had, I'm sure I would have been in the Final Round. I believe that the belt should have been mine originally and I want it back.
I didn't train enough. Well, I wanted to make it exciting again but I didn't train enough. It doesn't help to make excuses now. It was a chance for me to gain fans but my body just wouldn't come along.
Pride:
You said that your mood would be improved by the time you came to the event. How was it when you were actually in the ring?
I was watching Hansen's fights and I was more relaxed than during the Grand Prix. I was trying to put myself up by watching the fights rivaling mine, like Ishida's and Dan Henderson's, but I haven't done enough work and my body couldn't hide that.
Pride:
If your training for previous fights were 100%, how would you rate your training for this fight?
I haven't done anything other that stay in good health. I sparred with Kenji Suzuki because I didn't want my stomach to stick out like Hunt's but that's about it. I wasn't able to train like I did before. It's been 2 months since New Year's Eve and this was my 11th fight in 2 years, so I was tired. I want to gain fans but unfortunately, I betrayed everyone today.
Pride:
You looked panicked on the ground after you were taken down. Were you?
Yes. His ground punches aren't as heavy as Hansen's so I was concentrating on getting half-guard. I got it once but the ref didn't stand it up and when I took my chances and moved, I wasn't able to get half-guard again. I didn't want to tap. I felt helpless.
Did I? When my neck went to the right, he got both of his legs completely out and my legs were stuck. He had the choke on and I couldn't get back in half-guard.
I want to win 20 fights straight but I stopped at around 10. There's probably some pride in there and mental exhaustion. Both. It's really unfortunate because this is what is resulted in. I think martial arts are interesting and I will recover but I want to rest a little. I don't want to think about anything. I think I've done well for these 2 years. It's been a good lesson. I want to rest a little so I can fight in the BUSHIDO ring against this year.
Pride:
After the fight you were just staring at the screen. What were you thinking about?
