Josh Thomson Figured Anthony Pettis Would Back Out, Pitched Interim Title To The UFC

Former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Josh ‘Punk Thomson’ saw a golden opportunity slip through his fingers when UFC Lightweight champ Anthony Pettis was forced to withdraw from their scheduled UFC on Fox 9 headliner with serious knee injury.

Thomson made a successful re-debut in the Octagon when he destroyed Nate Diaz with a first round headkick at UFC on Fox 7 this April. In doing so he became the first man to ever finish Diaz via strikes. It also earned him a title shot at the minted Pettis, who took the belt off of Benson Henderson with a first round submission at August’s UFC 164.

That title shot may be gone for now, but all is not lost. Thomson is set to face Henderson at UFC on Fox 10 in Chicago in a title eliminator bout. Thomson is ready for the big opportunity. He appeared on today’s “The MMA Hour” to detail his decision not to wait for the champion to return:

“We just kind of decided that Benson was the next big thing and just move forward. I’ve been told that he’s going to be out for ten months. Young kids when they come back, they think they can do more than they can. He could be out for over a year and we just have a champion who sits on the sidelines. I tried to make a pitch for an interim title but there was nothing there. I was asking to fight Gilbert or T.J. Grant or whoever else (for an interim title) but that wasn’t an option, so I took the next best thing.”

Thomson also explained that given ‘Showtime’s’ history of injuries, he wasn’t all that surprised that Pettis pulled out of their bout in Sacramento:

“I was a little upset, but to be honest, as soon as the fight was given to me, I didn’t hold my breath. I kind of figured he was going to back out of the fight. Given that you know, he pulled out of a fight with Aldo, miraculously got better to fight in his hometown against Benson, and now he’s pulled out of the fight again. So I can understand, you just won the title. You know, hey, it is what it is. I’m sure he is hurt, but I tore my PCL a week before I fought Gilbert the third time. You can fight with a torn PCL. He’s pulled out of two fights with a hurt knee, so maybe he doesn’t react very well to pain.”

Despite some quiet barbs at ‘Showtime’s’ toughness, Thomson seems to be taking the whole ordeal with a grain of salt. He noted that he’s still in the mix if he defeats former champion Henderson. 

Thomson made a huge splash in April and now he’s close to another title shot. His long rivalry with Melendez in Strikeforce was the stuff of legends and many still think Thomson should have won the rubber match.

Either way, ‘Punk’ is ready to take the UFC Lightweight division by storm in 2014. He doesn’t care whom it’s against, just that he’s fighting the best. Do you think he will hand ‘Smooth’ his second straight loss on his way towards challenging for the belt?

Photo Credit:Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports