Issue 142
June 2016
Josh Thomson is back in the championship mix after quitting the UFC for Bellator
Josh Thomson
Bellator Lightweight
Alias: The Punk
Age: 37
Team American Kickboxing Academy
Record: 22-8 (1 NC)
Last summer, Josh Thomson signed a long-term deal with Bellator MMA and made no bones about why he did it – money talks. He couldn’t turn down a “fighter-friendly contract” that allowed him to chase the sponsorship dollars denied to him by the UFC’s Reebok deal. But that wasn’t the only reason. ‘The Punk’ had enough of sitting on the bench.
Thomson tells FO: “If you want the honest truth it’s just that, as an athlete, you know when a promotion isn’t going to build you, so what’s the point? I knew once the UFC offered me a title shot and then took it away, then they offered me guys that weren’t even ranked in the top 20. That let me know they weren’t interested in building or promoting me.
“All I ever asked for was to fight the best guys. I actually had to tell them ‘no’ when they offered me somebody who wasn’t even ranked. I told them I was sitting out until (Anthony) Pettis was ready. I wanted the champ and wanted to fight the champ when he was ready to fight. A week later they called me with the Benson (Henderson) fight.
“Even after that it was guys who weren’t ranked. Even though I was ranked in the top five I still was getting guys that weren’t even ranked. Once fighters become keen to that situation you have to understand that maybe that’s not the best place for you to be fighting. If you know you are never going to be backed, if you are never going to be invested in, what’s the point of being there?”
Thomson’s critics argued the UFC was reluctant to offer him a fresh contract because of a three-fight losing skid but he denies those claims. In fact, he says Zuffa had tried to re-sign him after his previous two fights. However, he wanted to listen to other offers after he accepted his talents were no longer required at the top level in the Octagon.
He says: “It’s almost like being a backup quarterback your whole career. You never really get that opportunity to play. They’re never going to give you a title shot. You’re never going to make the big money. You’re going to be the guy they put in there to beat they guys they don’t want to build anymore.
“It’s a truth that’s difficult to comprehend, too. You think it will never happen to you, so when it does it’s hard to admit to yourself. Do you really want to spend the rest of your career riding the pine? No, so I got out of there.”
Now 37 years old with 31 pro fights, Thomson didn’t have time to wait around and slowly rebuild his career. He wants to become a champion again. The grass proved to be greener on the other side. Within months of signing he’d earned two wins as one of his new promotion’s marquee names and booked a fight with former champion Michael Chandler that could propel him into the title shot he wants.
Another of the crucial factors behind Thomson’s jump to Bellator was his close relationship with its president, Scott Coker. He has known the former Strikeforce owner for more than a decade and built a relationship with his successful San Jose-based promotion when he was performing at the peak of his powers.
“I can trust him when he says he will take care of me,” Thomson reveals. “It means something. He’s done things for me without me even asking for them. He’s done things for me outside when he hasn’t had to. If there ever is a day where he doesn’t take care of me I can just chalk it up that I owe him three and he owes me one.”
The former Strikeforce lightweight is back among friends and is receiving the promotional push he wanted. But it would be naive to pretend money had nothing to do with the deal. As well as a greater opportunity for raking in extra revenue from sponsors, he’s guaranteed to earn more money just for showing up to fight. A lot more. That was vital for a veteran fighter in the twilight of his career.
He explains: “For me, not only was the contract money better with Bellator but there are incentives in there that are way better than I got from the UFC. Obviously, everybody wants to focus on the Reebok deal but there was a substantial difference between my contract now and what they offered me.
“My flat fee (with Bellator) was better than what (the UFC) were offering me. My show money was way better. I’m not talking a little bit. I’m talking a lot. You have to remember, when I show up and fight I don’t train any less hard, I don’t have any less of a chance of getting hurt. To me, I need to make sure my show money is a little more because I still put my butt on the line every single day.
“Every time I go in the gym, every time I get in the cage, it may be the last time I ever get in there. To bring home as much money as I can to take care of myself in life after my career is over is most important.
“Every fighter has the opportunity to dream big and they should dream big, but there comes time where you need to take a step back and look at reality. Some promotions don’t want to build you. Maybe they don’t have big plans for you, maybe they feel you don’t move the needle, and that’s fine. But maybe where you don’t move the needle for them you would crush it in another organization.”
Renewed rivalry
Shot at redemption
Besides getting his hands on a Bellator belt, Thomson’s aim is to rematch Benson Henderson. ‘Smooth’s decision win after five rounds at UFC on Fox 10 in 2014 still plays on ‘The Punk’s mind.
“You could say it would be nice to get that one back. I tore every ligament in my thumb and into my wrist and had a fracture in my wrist.
“I was able to grit it out for five rounds. I thought I won that fight. Dana White even said he thought I won the fight. It’s frustrating, for sure.
“If it comes to fruition, which I’m sure it will, then he and I will get it on. You don’t know what Benson is going to do. If I win (against Chandler) and Benson wins (against Andrey Koreshkov) I will probably go to 170 and fight Ben. Maybe I will try to get two titles.”
Bellator’s blueprint
The future’s bright on Spike
Another reason behind Thomson’s organizational switch is his belief in the project Scott Coker and Viacom have undertaken. He sees a lot of parallels between Bellator and one of his other former employers.
“They understand that they have a long way to go. Bellator is not saying they are going to be the UFC. They are saying the UFC can do whatever they are doing and we are going to do what we are doing.
“We are focusing on finding new up-and-coming talent and doing what Strikeforce did. All the champions in the UFC came from Strikeforce. I remember when the media said all of the top ten guys were all in the UFC – they weren’t. All of the top ten guys now came from Strikeforce.”
