JOSH ‘THE PUNK’ THOMSON 

Part 2

Rockin’ The Mansion

 

© Marc Wickert,
www.knucklepit.com
 September 18, 2008
Special thanks to Mario Serrano

With Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion II just two days away, Josh Thomson is in San Jose getting ready to leave for Los Angeles after doing his final training at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).  And ‘The Punk’ says he feels great about his upcoming fight.

Prior to his workouts at AKA, Josh was back in Idaho, training with UFC veteran Trevor Prangley.  “We've been working on a few things.  But mostly it’s the normal stuff I always work on.  In this game you have to be prepared for all styles.  That's why I train for everything,” says Thomson.

Despite Josh’s success in UFC and PRIDE, his recent win over Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight Title is considered by many to be Thomson’s greatest victory.  But how does Josh look back on the battle?  “It was a very tough fight.  I was prepared for whatever he was going to bring.  Early on I knew it was my night.  I just felt really strong going in.  Gil is a great guy and I hope he comes back strong.”

On September 20, Josh will be locking horns with Lion’s Den fighter, Ashe ‘The Archer’ Bowman.   And although Bowman hasn’t fought since October, 2007, Josh won’t be underestimating his opponent.  “I'm sure he'll be a little rusty, but I expect a great fight.  That time off could have helped him if he was injured.  All I know is I'll be ready to go.”

Josh, your last fight was a five rounder and this fight is set for three rounds.  Do you think your fitness will cause problems for Ashe?

“For sure.  I train for five-rounders all year around.  But like I said, I'm not taking anyone lightly.” 

Why won’t the September 20 match be a title fight?

“I'm not sure.  You will have to ask my promoter about that one.”

Will you be doing any sightseeing at the Playboy Mansion after your fight?

“Well, I'm not real sure what I'm going to be doing after the fight.  I just want to get the victory and then think about that stuff when it happens.  Most likely I'll be chilling by the pool.”

What is Hugh Hefner like?

“He seems like a cool guy.  I mean he has beautiful women around him all the time.  The guy is living his dream.  What a life.”

Ashe has had most of his success from submissions.  Will you want to keep it standing?

“I can handle my own if it goes to the ground, but I prefer to stand and strike.  If the takedown is there I’ll take it though.  It all depends on what he leaves open.”

What are Ashe’s strengths and weaknesses?

“He's a confident fighter.  That's his strength.  I don't really like to comment on someone's weaknesses.  That's not my style.”

You’ve won your last seven fights and Ashe has won six of his last seven.  Is that where the similarities end?

“Yeah, I guess.  He's his own man.  I don't compare myself to anyone.”

Who has been working with you on your strategy for this fight?

“Javier Mendez is the one who always comes up with my game plan.  I get advice from other fighters at AKA, but it’s mostly Javier.”

Is it hard to be motivated for Ashe after defeating such a highly rated fighter as Gilbert?

“In a way it is, because Gil is such a great fighter.  Taking nothing away from Ashe though, I'm not looking past him at all.  He's a very tough fighter.”

What will your strengths be?

“My desire to be the best.  I have an all-round game: He will have to be ready for everything.  I can’t say it’s just one thing: it’s everything.  I feel strong in all areas.”

Josh, is there anything you’d like to add?

“I just want to say thank you to all the MMA fans from around the world.  I very much appreciative being part of this interview.  Keep supporting MMA fighters: We're here to stay.  Thank you.”

Josh Thomson’s sponsors:

American Kickboxing Academy, Cung Le Martial Arts, Tapout, and you can buy all Josh Thamson’s shirts at knoxxgear.com.

 

Late News

Josh Thomson defeated Ashe Bowman by strikes – 1.14, Round One.

For more on Josh Thomson: www.joshthomson.com

 

 

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JOSH ‘THE PUNK’ THOMSON

Poised Like a Sidewinder for the Strikeforce Belt

 

 

© Marc Wickert, 
www.knucklepit.com 
June 20, 2008
Photos © Daisy Rosas, June 20, 2008

 

After winning his last six bouts in impressive fashion, Strikeforce’s number one lightweight contender, Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson, will be gunning for a world title on June 27, 2008, when he takes on Gilbert ‘El Nino’ Melendez at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

And just a week out from the Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson event, Josh is taking time out to chat with Knucklepit.com about his upcoming title challenge.

“I just sat down with ‘Razor’ Rob McCullough and we are about to grind on some food.  We got done sparring five 5s and did some stretching.  It’s like the last hard day, so I’m doing what I gotta do – the five rounds, and then calling it quits.  I’ll be training again tonight, but only flo-grappling, and some wrestling enduros before going for a run.  Then I’ll wean down to going through the motions: working the head movements, the takedowns and takedown defense… just little things like that; doing everything at a nice, easy pace for the amount of time that I’ll be fighting – 25 minutes,” says Thomson.

Josh originally started training up at Idaho with Trevor Prangley, before moving down to San Jose in 1998, where he worked out of Javier Mendez’s American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) during 1988-89.  Josh then went back to Idaho for a year and returned to California in 2000.  He’s been there ever since.

With the Strikeforce event on June 27, and Paul Buentello getting ready to spoil Alexsander Emelianenko’s US debut on July 19 at Affliction Banned, Josh says everyone’s fired up at San Jose’s AKA.  “It’s pretty electric here right now.  We’ve also got Josh Koscheck fighting Chris Lytle on July 5 in the UFC.  It’s been good in our gym: Paul (Buentello) is looking good and Koscheck’s looking like an animal. 

“I went down to help Rob McCullough train for his fight with Kenneth Alexander in the WEC, so when Rob was in his last two weeks of hard training, I was down there trying to get started on my training camp, and it was like a motivator for me with Rob there.  Now he’s up here helping me train on my last hard week, so it’s helping keep me focused and on cue for what to expect from somebody of a high caliber. ”

Josh, is Trevor Prangley still at AKA?

“Trevor has his own gym in Idaho, which is where he is right now, but he trains here at AKA when he’s getting ready for fights.”

What areas of your training does Javier Mendez help you with?

“He was actually the person who trained Frank Shamrock, BJ Penn, along with me.  Now he’s worked with all the guys here at AKA. He’s the owner, and he’s the one who taught them all their stand-ups, from Jon Fitch to Josh Koscheck, to Trevor Prangley and many other guys.  He’s basically the one who has worked with all of us on our stand-up and getting us better on our feet.”

Mike Swick just had a great victory over Marcus Davis at UFC 85. Do you train with Mike?

“Yes, I do, but for that style of fight, he was looking to train more with left-handers, and I’m not left-handed, so we had to bring in fighters who were, to train with Swick.”

You fought at the Playboy Mansion.  What was it like being there?

“It was good…interesting.  The scenery was definitely different.  I believe I’ll be fighting there again in August or September, and I’m looking forward to that.”

 

Which shoulder did you tear the labrum on last October?

“I tore my left shoulder.”

Are you happy with the way it has healed?

“It’s not one hundred percent right now, but it’s as close as I expect before the fight.”

Was that during training that the injury occurred?

“Yes, it was.”

You’ve trained with Gilbert Melendez in the past.  How recently was that?

“We have been training together for the last two years.  We actually trained together for the Playboy Mansion fight.”

Would your games have changed much since then?

“I can’t really say mine has – only because I’ve been injured, so it really hasn’t changed that much.  I’ve just been focusing on getting in shape and being healthy.”

Do you believe your stand-up is superior to Gilbert’s?

“I think technically, yes, my stand-up is superior to Gilbert’s.  That doesn’t mean he can’t land a big right hand or a big punch: He’s got heavy hands.  I’ve trained with him several times and he hits hard.  I mean, a fight could change with one punch, so we’ll see what happens.”

And you consider his right hand to be his main weapon in that area?

“On the feet, yes.”

Is your toe-to-toe game more diverse than his?

“Yes, of course. I use my hands more technically soundly; I use my kicks and knees a lot more and a lot better than he.  But what he does have, he’s very good at it.”

How is your takedown defense?

“I’m pretty happy with it right now.  I expect Gilbert will not want to stand with me: I think he’s going to try to take me down, and we’re kinda prepared for that.  I think he knows that, and he’s going to want to keep me guessing and stand a little bit, try to get the takedown and try to ground and pound.  But he’s going to want to stay on the feet a little bit.  The key to it for me is to implement my game plan.” 

You have a wrestling background, and you have BJJ skills.  Who has the better ground game?

“Technically, as far as grappling, I feel I do, but I think with the wrestling, he might have a little bit of an advantage given the fact that he has wrestled a lot more in his fights than I have.  I’ve kinda put my wrestling on the backburner and had to reincorporate it into my training and fine-tune it for this fight.”

Is there anything you’ve been working on specifically for this fight?

“I’ve been working on being prepared for his right hand and his wrestling.  I’ve been working on getting up from the bottom, doing a lot of damage from the top, and a lot of striking and wrestling.  But mainly, I’ve been focusing on tightening up my full game.”

Your sponsors?

“I want to say thanks to American Kickboxing Academy, Cung Le Martial Arts, Tapout, and you can buy all my shirts at knoxxgear.com.”

Josh, is there anything you’d like to add?

“Hello to the fans.  Hope you can all tune in.”

 

Tickets for Melendez vs. Thomson priced from $30, went on sale Monday, May 5th, at 10 a.m. PT at the HP Pavilion 
box office 
as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), 
and on Strikeforce’s official website (www.Strikeforceusa.net).