Tag: Josh Thomson

Gilbert Burns, Josh Thomson Clown Nate Diaz After UFC 254 Tweets

Burns DiazGilbert Burns and Josh Thomson fired back at Nate Diaz following his post-UFC 254 tweets. Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje with a triangle choke in the second round of their lightweight title unification fight on Saturday. Diaz was not impressed, however, as he fired shots at Nurmagomedov along with Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier following […]

Burns Diaz

Gilbert Burns and Josh Thomson fired back at Nate Diaz following his post-UFC 254 tweets.

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje with a triangle choke in the second round of their lightweight title unification fight on Saturday.

Diaz was not impressed, however, as he fired shots at Nurmagomedov along with Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier following the event.

The most recent tweet came on Sunday when he claimed Nurmagomedov was 29-1 with the one loss coming to him after an altercation the pair had a few years ago.

That led to many fans mocking Diaz and some fighters and ex-fighters also joined in like Burns and Thomson who responded with pictures of Diaz getting beaten up.

“Just stop @NateDiaz209,” Burns replied.

Burns has notably gone back-and-forth with Diaz in the past after the Stockton native played him down as a worthy title challenger. “Durinho” would fire back by mocking the number of losses on Diaz’s record on that occasion.

Meanwhile, Thomson — the only fighter to finish Diaz via strikes — also responded with a picture of the head kick that led to the latter’s defeat in their fight. Thomson is notably a teammate of Nurmagomedov’s at American Kickboxing Academy.

“Ssshhh….. ?”

With just two fights since the start of 2017, Diaz certainly isn’t helping himself with these tweets.

What do you make of these interactions?

Josh Thomson: Patricio Pitbull Could Defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov FreireJosh Thomson believes if anyone has a chance of stopping Khabib Nurmagomedov in the lightweight division, it’s Bellator’s Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Nurmagomedov is the current undefeated UFC lightweight champion who is yet to meet his match so far. Many believe Tony Ferguson is the man to inflict defeat on “The Eagle” but we are yet […]

Nurmagomedov Freire

Josh Thomson believes if anyone has a chance of stopping Khabib Nurmagomedov in the lightweight division, it’s Bellator’s Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.

Nurmagomedov is the current undefeated UFC lightweight champion who is yet to meet his match so far. Many believe Tony Ferguson is the man to inflict defeat on “The Eagle” but we are yet to see that fight come to fruition after five attempts.

Even if it does happen later this year, Nurmagomedov’s former teammate Thomson doesn’t see Ferguson or anybody else defeating him.

He does, however, believe Bellator two-weight champion Freire has a chance.

“I really don’t see anyone in the 155lb division,” Thomson told Metro.co.uk. “The only one I’d bring up is Patricio Pitbull and that’s only because he’s so small. He’s short. Patricio has got the power and speed to get in. Khabib has a hard time with guys who are fast and we saw that with Michael Johnson.

“Johnson is also longer. Patricio is not a big guy and he is physically strong. Khabib had a hard time getting shots on Al Iaquinta because he sat with a very low stance. ‘He has good wrestling and take down defence, Khabib had a hard time getting in at him because he was so short. Patricio is shorter than him, he’s physically strong. He’s got speed and power. When [Patricio] fought Benson Henderson and Michael Chandler, [we saw] he knows how to fight bigger guys. Speed will always play a factor. I would still lean towards Khabib a lot.”

Although Freire did win the Bellator lightweight title by knocking out the bigger Chandler, it remains to be seen if he would be able to do the same to Nurmagomedov.

It should also be noted that Thomson is contracted to Bellator so there is definitely some bias here.

Regardless, what do you make of Thomson’s comments? Do you think “Pitbull” has a chance against Nurmagomedov?

Josh Thomson Details Worst-Case Scenarios Of Dana White Going Ahead With Fights

Thomson WhiteJosh Thomson believes UFC president Dana White is taking a huge risk in going ahead with his events amid the coronavirus pandemic. Despite receiving plenty of criticism, White has remained adamant in his plans to resume the fight schedule starting with UFC 249 on April 18 which is expected to take place on tribal land […]

Thomson White

Josh Thomson believes UFC president Dana White is taking a huge risk in going ahead with his events amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite receiving plenty of criticism, White has remained adamant in his plans to resume the fight schedule starting with UFC 249 on April 18 which is expected to take place on tribal land in California.

In addition, the UFC head honcho has revealed that he’s secured a private island which would allow his international fighters to compete as well.

But for Thomson — now retired from MMA competition — the worse-case scenarios must be considered and the consequences could be detrimental for the sport:

“Why are they doing this? Dana likes to be the daredevil,” Thomson told Metro.co.uk. “You always think of the worst-case scenario when you’re doing an event. Worst-case scenario here is you fight on an island and half the people get COVID-19. You bring it to the island and people start dying on the island. Another worst case is there’s no real hospital on the island and someone gets seriously hurt and they can’t make it to a hospital in time and a fighter dies.

“Those are the two worst-case scenarios you could think of. Dana has to be ready for those consequences. That would end Dana as the president of the UFC, it would end the promotion and the sport itself would take a huge step backwards. It would be detrimental to the sport. The average person would never support MMA of any kind again because of this recklessness [leading to a worst case scenario].”

Of course, if White is able to pull off UFC 249 and future events without a hitch, Thomson has no problems whatsoever. It’s whether that can be done that he’s doubtful about.

“If they pull it off without anyone getting seriously ill or hurt, great job,” he added. “Fighters get paid and more events can start coming back. Who knows? But it takes 250 people at minimum to run a show and that’s a lot of people in one area moving and touching each other. It only takes one person to get sick and it corrupts the whole thing.”

Do you agree with Thomson?

Josh Thomson Criticizes Dana White For Pushing Through With UFC Events During Pandemic

Josh Thomson isn’t a fan of Dana White pushing through with UFC cards in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. UFC 249 is on target for April 18. White says the event will be held inside a venue that the UFC has under wraps for two months. While…

Josh Thomson isn’t a fan of Dana White pushing through with UFC cards in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. UFC 249 is on target for April 18. White says the event will be held inside a venue that the UFC has under wraps for two months. While White hasn’t disclosed the location, it’s been […]

The post Josh Thomson Criticizes Dana White For Pushing Through With UFC Events During Pandemic appeared first on MMA News.

Josh Thomson Thinks Cris Cyborg Would ‘Dismantle’ Amanda Nunes In Rematch

While the possibility of Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg II is out the window, Josh Thomson thinks a rematch would play out far differently. Back in Dec. 2018, Nunes stunned the MMA world. She ran through Cyborg in 51 seconds to score the knockout win. In…

While the possibility of Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg II is out the window, Josh Thomson thinks a rematch would play out far differently. Back in Dec. 2018, Nunes stunned the MMA world. She ran through Cyborg in 51 seconds to score the knockout win. In the process, Nunes became a UFC “champ-champ” by capturing […]

The post Josh Thomson Thinks Cris Cyborg Would ‘Dismantle’ Amanda Nunes In Rematch appeared first on MMA News.

Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson Clash Over UFC Not Canceling Events

Cormier ThomsonAlthough some fans and fighters like Daniel Cormier are happy the UFC is still running events, many feel it is irresponsible given the current coronavirus pandemic. Sports leagues all around the world have suspended their seasons while Bellator recently postponed their 241 event which was set for this past Friday. They also paid their fighters’ […]

Cormier Thomson

Although some fans and fighters like Daniel Cormier are happy the UFC is still running events, many feel it is irresponsible given the current coronavirus pandemic.

Sports leagues all around the world have suspended their seasons while Bellator recently postponed their 241 event which was set for this past Friday. They also paid their fighters’ full purses provided they made weight.

The UFC, on the other hand, went ahead with UFC Brasilia last night behind closed doors and doesn’t plan on delaying or canceling any of their upcoming events either.

One speculated reason why is that the UFC doesn’t want to pay the fighters their full purses if they’re not competing. And Josh Thomson revealed that a couple of UFC fighters — who were nervous about fighting — asked him if Bellator fighters were paid full purses.

“I’ve had 3 @ufc fighters reach out me asking how much @BellatorMMA paid their fighters when the fight was cancelled. I said , 100% of their purse to everyone who made weight. They all said they’re nervous to fight and wanted to know what fighters in bellator actually got paid.”

Cormier responded by defending the UFC, claiming while it was admirable that Bellator president Scott Coker paid every fighter, all those fighters still wanted to compete.

“Josh, the fighters wanna fight josh. Hats off to Coker and crew yesterday but those fighters wanted to fight. That’s what they do! I see what you’re doing Thomson.”

Thomson responded promptly:

“You’re wrong, every fighter on that card and even the ones that weren’t on that card sent out appreciation to @ScottCoker for what he did for our athletes by paying them their full purses. Athletes need to be protected from themselves sometimes, u should know this more than most.”

It’s interesting to note that both Cormier and Thomson are also teammates at American Kickboxing Academy.

Regardless, what do you think of the UFC still running events? Should they stop?