After successful debut, Josh Thomson says Bellator is family, unlike UFC

Josh Thomson

Lightweight veteran Josh Thomson has fought for most of the major promotions in MMA’s history, and he said the vibe in Bellator is a lot different than the UFC.

Thomson (21-8 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), who earned a third-round submission win over Mike Bronzoulis (18-9-1 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) in his Bellator debut this past Saturday, feels more respected behind the scenes with the Viacom-owned promotion.

Coupled with an open-ended contract that allows him to fight for other promotions, Thomson said he feels more motivated to stay busy rather than move toward retirement.

“The walkouts, the whole presentation – it has that PRIDE feel,” Thomson told MMAjunkie Radio about his appearance at this past Saturday’s Spike-televised “Bellator 142: Dynamite” event at SAP Center in San Jose. “If you look at all the exciting fights they did and the relationship with (Nobuyuki) Sakikibara for a new Japanese fighting organization, I think it’s going to be huge. From when I signed the contract to once we got there, it’s just a totally different feel.

“(Bellator light heavyweight) Phil Davis touched on it a little bit; you just feel rejuvenated. There’s something different when you show up to the venue, when you show up to the host hotel, and it just feels better. There’s not, I don’t want to call it negative energy, but you just feel relaxed and comfortable, like family.”

Thomson left the UFC earlier this year amid reports of an unpleasant departure, with the promotion reportedly declining to renew his contract in advance of a potential Bellator deal. Thomson said he simply declined to sign a new deal and left for greener pastures.

That wasn’t the only miscommunication with the industry-leader, the 37-year-old former Strikeforce champ said. Thomson said on several occasions he felt disrespected by the UFC’s staff behind the scenes.

Josh Thomson

“There were a couple of times when you have interns talking to you in a manner, and you’re like, ‘Who the hell are you?’” he said. “And you don’t know who they are. They could be someone’s nephew or cousin or son that’s high up in that organization, where if you say something, you could put your foot in your mouth.

“The thing is, nine times out of 10, it was just an intern who was doing it for free or low pay. They’re talking to you like they’re a boss, and if you’re the talent, you don’t want to be talked to that way, especially for someone like myself, where I’ve been in the top organizations for 15 years now. And I’ve never been talked to in certain manners.

“It all trickles down from the top. When other people see the higher-ups talking to the talent that way, it just feels like the interns feel like they can talk to you that way. I’ve seen them talk to other athletes that way, as well, even people that are retired and also in the UFC Hall of Fame, and they’ve had to be put in their place by those people. That’s when you realize this isn’t normal. When you’re talking to top hall of fame guys that way, it’s not normal. That’s not OK.”

Thomson plans to fight as much as possible before the year’s end and is pushing to get on a card promoted by Sakikibara in Japan and set to air on New Year’s Eve on Bellator’s longtime broadcast partner Spike.

Thomson praised Bellator for giving him the option of fighting in boxing or kickboxing if the promotion isn’t able to keep him busy.

“It just gives you a whole bunch of different options to make money,” he said. “If they can’t keep you busy, there’s other options you can take to make money. And that’s very important.

“Just knowing that that avenue is there, though, it increases my potential to want to train more to do other things, to stay in top shape, knowing I can always do that on the side to get ready for another fight.”

Jitters accompanied Thomson’s return to San Jose for the first time since a 2014 split-decision loss to Bobby Green at UFC on FOX 12. But after his first win in nearly two years, he’s feeling optimistic about his future.

And that, he said, is largely because of the sign on the center of the canvas on which he fights.

For more on Bellator 142, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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