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[Gurry]

n Interview with Din Thomas (Part 2 of 2)
Written by Sean Canavan


In the second part of this incredibly candid interview Din gives us his take on Edgar/Fisher, Huerta/Guida and the failure of Pride fighters. He talks about steroids in MMA and his opinion of Hermes Franca's excuse for a positive drug test.

Lastly Din explains why he feels BJ doesn't deserve a title shot and how giving him one would be a "slap in the face" to the 155 lb division.





Sean: Would you be willing to pick fights with your opponents, ala Tito Ortiz, to try to bring attention to your fights?

Din: They try to get you to do that. Its kind of a good marketing thing to do for yourself, to make fun of and pick on these guys so you can bring some attention to the fight. I try not to waste too much time with that stuff. I have too much other stuff going on in my life to be on an internet board calling people names.

When you do the interviews, the interviewer always tries to get you to talk trash about your opponent but for me I don’t really need to do that. They’re good at it though, they’ll get you to talk some trash but I try not to get into it because I don’t think its that important to the sport to be talking trash, not for everybody anyway.

Sean: Are there guys coming out of your academies that maybe we haven’t heard of but we should be looking out for?

Din: I think the one guy who has gotten a little bit of recognition but hasn’t really gotten that much is JZ Cavalcante. He hasn’t fought much in the United States, he’s much bigger in Japan. He’s a guy that can come into the UFC and really just clean house.

I think he’s one guy, I think Jorge Masvidal is another guy who hasn’t really gotten his props yet because he came from a different team. Sometimes your team and your management can help you and I think by coming to American Top Team it will get some more light on him and his accomplishments. I think if he keeps winning fights, which I think he will, then he is another guy to look out for. Its just going to take a little bit of time for those guys to get the recognition they deserve.

Sean: A lot of people think BJ Penn is going to come in and dominate the LW division. What’s your opinion of where BJ stands among the lws?

Din: There’s no doubt BJ is probably the most talented guy, if not in any division, but people also put him on a pedestal because of what he’s done a long time ago. But recently, I actually don’t think its fair for him to get an immediate title shot at 155 lbs right now.


He beat me, he’s had a great career, but he lost his last two fights in the UFC besides Jens Pulver. They were at 170. What does that say if you can go from 170, and lose to the two top guys and just come down and automatically get a title shot? That’s going to happen with BJ if he gets the title shot, it happened with Sean Sherk. It kind of slaps everybody at 155 lbs in the face. I think BJ is a tremendous athlete, he’s one of the best but I just don’t know if he is actually deserving of a title shot just by beating Jens Pulver.


He should get at least another fight at 155 lbs before that. I don’t think he’ll steamroll everyone at 155 lbs. I think BJ is more talented than anybody but there are a lot of guys who will give him trouble and he won’t be able to just run through everybody. Nobody is that good.


Sean: Coming off a knee injury, what’s your perspective on steroids? Do you think there is a difference between using them to get over an injury, like Hermes Franca, and just using them to get stronger?


Din: No. I’ll tell you the truth. Its rare you will find a guy who says “I just got an injury I have to use steroids to get healthy.” I think that’s a lie, if you are going to take steroids for that you were probably doing them before. I don’t think anyone just picks them up and does them just for that.


Maybe that’s just his case but I don’t buy it. Everybody’s injured, everybody’s got something affecting them and I don’t buy it that you just use steroids because you are injured. Now with them cracking down, I think its going to hurt a lot of people. I don’t think steroids makes you a better fighter, I think it makes you a more confident fighter. I think they use it as a crutch and when you take away that crutch they are going to be hurting. Anyone can tell you that the mentality of your fight game is more important than the physical, especially when you’re fighting in the UFC.

Sean: Do you think that could be a difference with the Pride guys coming from an environment with no testing?

Din: I definitely think that plays a factor. I think the Pride guys have always been, I don’t want to say overrated, but the fact that they were allowed to do more in their fights with the knees on the ground, and the stomps and kicking guys in the head on the ground, I think that always translates in our minds for them to be a little better because they appear more violent and rough.

I think that plays a factor that now they can’t do that. I think they were put on a higher level than the UFC guys because they could be more violent. I think you’re right that the steroids are going to play a factor because they don’t have that crutch anymore. They can’t take steroids and they are going to think “I’m too small,” or they are going to be hesitant, they aren’t going to be moving like they normally would on steroids and I don’t think it’s a physical thing, I think its totally a mental thing. Now that the steroids are gone they don’t have the crutch to lean on.

Sean: Who do you like in Edgar/Fisher and Guida/Huerta?

Din: I like Guida in that fight, he’s a hard guy to count out and I think he’s better than Huerta. I think Huerta’s always made his mark by fighting smaller guys. Huerta’s a good fighter, I don’t want to sound like I’m talking trash about him but I just think he’s had a little help going up and making his way through the rankings by fighting picture perfect opponents for him.

I think Clay is not going to be that type of opponent he’s had in the past. Huerta wins his fights but at some point in his fights he’s kind of on the down side, he’s losing. I think if Clay gets him in that position he’s going to take a lot of advantage of it. When I fought Clay I got the decision over him but Clay is actually one of my favorite fighters, the way he brings it, so I’m going to pick Clay to win in that fight.

I think Frankie Edgar has what it takes to beat Fisher. I don’t think he is going to be intimidated by the experience of Fisher. I think with his wrestling, if he fights a smart fight he can beat him.

Against Fisher its going to be hard for him to keep his focus and fight a smart fight for three rounds because Fisher is a very strong and crafty opponent. I don’t really have a pick on that one, that’s a toss-up for me. I think Edgar has the ability to beat him but I think Fisher is probably the favorite.

Sean: Are there sponsors you’d like to thank?

Din: I’d like to thank Sprawl, MMAWarehouse, DMHA, Warrior Wear, Ecko, all the guys that looked out for me after my last fight. American Top Team for looking out for me for the last few years and making sure I’m ready for my fights.

You can find Din on the web at Dinthomas.com and his academies are at http://www.attpsl.com/

The first part of this interview can be found at strictlymma.com

http://www.strictlymma.com/site/inde...d=241&Itemid=1

i like thomas u no, he says altta shit but u cant call him a loud mouth cuz its all true. He duznt bad mouth anybody he just generally sepaks his mind and speaks it with confidecne, and thats y we believe him and dun degrade him down to retards like baroni or rogan. War Thomas

[Noise Chopped]

Originally Posted by Din

I try not to waste too much time with that stuff. I have too much other stuff going on in my life to be on an internet board calling people names.

Finally, someone with some sense, haha.

[Mac]

He's right on with Penn, the Pride fighters and I agree with his picks on the LW fights.

[DaTruThHurTs]

I agree with what he thinks about the Penn situation.....however IMO I think that was the only way to keep Penn at 155..... He is itching to get back in there w GSP nd Hughes....he's said it b4 he wants to fight GSP atleast 2 more times and HUghes atleast 1 more time.....but since they r waiving a title shot infront of him in 55's then he will stay....but honestly not many people in 55's can give BJ trouble there...I am not talking about BJ totally dominating but I don't see him being in any 5 round wars that that division.

[chico76]

I definately don't see any of that as shit talking. There is a big difference between having an opinion and talking shit. I totally agree that BJ should have to fight someone before he gets a title shot. It seems like everytime someone loses a title fight everyone starts asking what weight they should jump to.

[jj413]

I don't get the Pride comments. Just because they can knee and kick on the ground it makes them more "violent" and they lose it after going to the UFC? The only big botches were Cro Cop and Shogun who you can forgive with injury. Big Nog, Jackson, and Silva are doing well.

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by jj413

I don't get the Pride comments. Just because they can knee and kick on the ground it makes them more "violent" and they lose it after going to the UFC? The only big botches were Cro Cop and Shogun who you can forgive with injury. Big Nog, Jackson, and Silva are doing well.

Silva hasn't fought anyone, Nog would've lost to Herring if the guy wasn't a complete idiot, Aurelio got schooled by Guida, and Nakamura was embarrassed as well. It wasn't just Cro Cop and Shogun. Din makes a very valid point that we may have overrated the PRIDE guys because we saw them doing so many more things than the guys in the UFC. The reason for that wasn't necessarily talent, but the differentiation of rules. I'd never thought of it that way before but it makes perfect sense. I'm not saying everyone from PRIDE sucks, just that it's obvious the UFC fighters are better than most people gave them credit for.

Din doesn't seem to particularly care about the marketing side of things. Yes Tito is an arrogant loud-mouthed jackass but he promotes his fights and gets people talking and paying to see him win or lose. Does Penn deserve a title shot at 155? No, but he's a big star with the talent to back it up. Obviously he's going to be the UFC's go to guy since Sherk screwed over the 155 division big time. It's just business.

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see anything about Din's knee injury. When is he coming back? I was really looking forward to the Florian fight and was obviously quite disappointed with how it turned out.

[neonatural45]

Originally Posted by Adambomb

Silva hasn't fought anyone, Nog would've lost to Herring if the guy wasn't a complete idiot, Aurelio got schooled by Guida, and Nakamura was embarrassed as well. It wasn't just Cro Cop and Shogun. Din makes a very valid point that we may have overrated the PRIDE guys because we saw them doing so many more things than the guys in the UFC. The reason for that wasn't necessarily talent, but the differentiation of rules. I'd never thought of it that way before but it makes perfect sense. I'm not saying everyone from PRIDE sucks, just that it's obvious the UFC fighters are better than most people gave them credit for.

Din doesn't seem to particularly care about the marketing side of things. Yes Tito is an arrogant loud-mouthed jackass but he promotes his fights and gets people talking and paying to see him win or lose. Does Penn deserve a title shot at 155? No, but he's a big star with the talent to back it up. Obviously he's going to be the UFC's go to guy since Sherk screwed over the 155 division big time. It's just business.

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see anything about Din's knee injury. When is he coming back? I was really looking forward to the Florian fight and was obviously quite disappointed with how it turned out.

Silva not fought anyone? Last I checked he has cleared out the middleweight division........

and wouldn't Herring count as a PRIDE fighter? He fought injuired against Obrien so I can turn the other cheek on that loss and besides that he looked great against Imes

and Nog got KTFO, so what. It shows how great of a fighter he is that he could come back after that kick (which would have hospitilized you or me) and dominate a good fighter in Herring. Besides that one kick he own the whole fight

Most people predicted Guida to beat Auerilo and Machida to beat Nakamura, so I dont see how that makes PRIDE overrated. Especially considering that those two were not top 4 or 5 in their weight class in PRIDE

so I agree with whoever said it, Shogun and Cro Cop are the only two black marks on PRIDE. And the ass kicking that Rampage and Silva have done makes me wonder what the hell is going on. Ill say that Forrest Griffen is better then people gave him credit for, Gonzaga is overrated (at least he was right after the Cro Cop win) and Kongo is one dimensional. Everyone already knew that Guida and Machida were fucking good fighters

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by neonatural45

Silva not fought anyone? Last I checked he has cleared out the middleweight division........

and wouldn't Herring count as a PRIDE fighter? He fought injuired against Obrien so I can turn the other cheek on that loss and besides that he looked great against Imes

and Nog got KTFO, so what. It shows how great of a fighter he is that he could come back after that kick (which would have hospitilized you or me) and dominate a good fighter in Herring. Besides that one kick he own the whole fight

Most people predicted Guida to beat Auerilo and Machida to beat Nakamura, so I dont see how that makes PRIDE overrated. Especially considering that those two were not top 4 or 5 in their weight class in PRIDE

so I agree with whoever said it, Shogun and Cro Cop are the only two black marks on PRIDE. And the ass kicking that Rampage and Silva have done makes me wonder what the hell is going on. Ill say that Forrest Griffen is better then people gave him credit for, Gonzaga is overrated (at least he was right after the Cro Cop win) and Kongo is one dimensional. Everyone already knew that Guida and Machida were fucking good fighters

lol, I thought you were talking about Wanderlei! Not Anderson.

You and I aren't pro fighters so that statement is pretty irrelevant. Nog didn't look good. Yes he came back and won, but that was because of Herring's poor performance more than it was a great showing by Nog. Nobody should ever survive a head kick like that and win.

Aurelio beat PRIDE's Champion Gomi. Obviously he was a top level contender. Guida is good, but the guy lost to Din Thomas. I love Din, but he's not exactly the best in the world.

Nakamura was a top contender in PRIDE. He fought the best they had to offer and held his own. He did pretty much nothing against Machida, who isn't a top guy in the UFC...yet anyway.

Anderson Silva and Rampage are the two exceptions. Overall the PRIDE guys that have gone to the UFC have been pretty disappointing. I'm not saying they all suck, but I do think they were overrated.

When PRIDE was alive it wasn't uncommon to hear people claim that their entire roster was better than 90% of the guys in the UFC, and now we see that simply wasn't the case.

[blah]

Originally Posted by Gurry

http://www.strictlymma.com/site/inde...d=241&Itemid=1

i like thomas u no, he says altta shit but u cant call him a loud mouth cuz its all true. He duznt bad mouth anybody he just generally sepaks his mind and speaks it with confidecne, and thats y we believe him and dun degrade him down to retards like baroni or rogan. War Thomas

thx for posting this. i agree with thomas, especially with his thoughts on the hot/important topics of bj, the pride guys, and steroids. i don't think it's fair to the lw division for sherk to have gotten his lw shot, same for bj, simply because of their lack of validating accomplishments at lw. i mean, sherk loses to hughes and gsp, then beats diaz who had lost his previous two, then gets a title shot at lw? bj loses to hughes and gsp, like sherk did, at ww, beats pulver at lw who had lost his last fight, and prior to that hadn't fought for the ufc in 3-4 years, and gets a shot? pulver gave penn a fight as well, and diaz held sherk to a pretty close decision. before the sherk steroids thing it was definitely going to be him vs bj, meaning that stevenson, who has four wins in a row at lw over good opposition, had to wait in line behind bj. bj and sherk's accomplishments have come at ww, and have come a while ago. i think sherk and bj getting their title shots at lw are two of the biggest cases of ufc favouritism and unfairness.