Josh Thomson has given his take on a possible union in the world of MMA.
Thomson, who is 39-years-old, is currently on a one-fight losing streak. Once Strikeforce was closed by Zuffa, he went just 1-4 while in the promotion. His only win in that stint came in his first fight back in the UFC over Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 7 by second-round TKO.
He dropped two split decisions to Benson Henderson at UFC on FOX 10 and Bobby Green at UFC on FOX 12. In 2015, he then signed with Bellator MMA where he went 2-1 and has not fought since February of 2017.
This has been a hot topic for years but nothing has come from various fighter unions being able to get power from promoters. Thomson noted on a recent episode of his own Sammy and the Punk podcast, that he understands how important this issue is.
He also gave his take on former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub having words with UFC President Dana White and how White saying negative things about his fighters is not the way to go.
“Here’s the thing, is he can hype you up in one moment for whatever fight it is you’re having, then if you have a bad performance, he can talk you down,” Thomson said of White (transcript courtesy of Bloody Elbow). “He could just destroy you and say all this sh-t about you. Because it doesn’t really make a difference because then, the next guy who fights could end up winning. He could build that guy up to be a star, and then that person will like him.”
“Not only are you crushing him when he’s down, if he loses one or two more, you guys cut him and he’s gone and we never hear from him again,” he added. “And then when you leave, you’re just a bitter old fighter, or you’re just a bitter fighter that is upset that you lost and you got cut. When in reality, it could’ve been something that Dana could have probably propped him up and said ‘Look, good fight, tough fight, I’m sure he’s a tough guy, he’ll be back.’ But we’ve never heard things like that come out of his mouth, and that could change a young athlete’s career.”
“I don’t see any way that there’s gonna ever be a fighter’s union, because that fighter now that (White) is talking about, he’s on Cloud 9,” Thomson explained. “He’s the one that is like ‘OK, now I’m in the good graces of Dana White, and I’ma do whatever it is to support this company.’ Whereas the younger guy, whoever he was hyping before is now no longer hyped, that person’s like ‘Man, how do I get back in the good graces?’ That’s all he’s thinking.”
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