Josh Thomson Has No Regrets, Hints At Retirement Following UFC on FOX 10 Loss
UFC lightweight Josh Thomson most likely saw his title shot go up in smoke when he lost a controversial split decision to former UFC champ Benson Henderson at UFC on FOX 10. “Punk” broke his hand in the fight, basically taking away all of his striking offense and his grip. Still many believe that he appeared to outwrestle Henderson in a very close fight.
At the post-fight press conference, Thomson was understandably very distraught about the loss. He knew that a title shot was most likely hinging on tonight’s main event, and an unfortunate injury played a big role in his losing by a slim margin. He even went as far as to declare he might retire from the fight game:
“This might be it, man. I don’t know, I can’t tell you right now. I’m pretty emotional, as you can tell. I still feel I’m possibly top 5 in the world right now. I have no regrets. This ride has been great. I’ve been all over the world, fought in the biggest organizations in the world.”
Indeed Thomson has traveled the world and fought the best throughout his lengthy MMA career. But, even though he lost to Henderson, he shouldn’t receive too much of a fall down the rankings. He was injured, and there’s a ton of people who still think he won the fight anyway.
The Chicago crowd seemed to be part of that contingent, as they loudly expressed their disdain at the decision with a chorus of boos. Regardless, Thomson has to be commended for his courageous performance. “The Punk” detailed his gruesome thumb injury:
“Even when he locked his hands around my wrist, my corner was telling me, ‘Fight the hands.’ Well, I can’t grab anything. Every time I went to fight his hands off, my thumb would just bend all the way back.”
“It was more irritating than anything knowing the things you needed to do, you couldn’t do out there. You train this hard for this long, it’s such a long camp and I see my title shot just f—— disappearing. Without getting emotional right now, it’s really irritating me.”
Perhaps in a couple of days when emotions settle down, Thomson will re-think his decision and decide to get back in the gym. After all, there’s most likely a high-profile bout awaiting him once his hands heals, so hopefully he’s not on the sidelines for too long.
With half of his game taken from him, Thomson was able to slam Henderson and gain advantageous positions throughout the fight. Would he have been able to finish it if his thumb had not snapped earlier on?
Photo: David Banks for USA TODAY Sports
