Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender Josh Thomson has never been shy to speak his mind ... even if it does draw the ire of his boss at times.
Staying true to character, Thomson recently told FOX Sports that the bigger guys who compete at Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight are not true mixed martial artists (MMA) and are not as good as the guys who fight in lower weight classes.
No, really:
"This is what I say -- when you go up in weight, you should be saying it to those guys. Because those guys all have weaknesses. You hit 185, 205 and heavyweight, those guys are always just good at like one thing, two things, but they're not great all the way around. There's ways to finish them. So if you're a well-rounded athlete, you can finish those guys. You can find ways to finish those guys. With 55-pounders and below, good luck, man. Everybody's good all around -- they're good wrestlers, they're good jiu-jitsu guys, they're good stand up guys --they're game to throw down and they're always in shape. 170 is kind of like the limbo -- like there's some well-rounded guys in there. GSP was the champion so long because he was the most well-rounded and usually in the best shape. But, that's kind of like the whole new guy -- that's why Rory MacDonald does well. He's in shape, he's got pretty good jiu-jitsu, he's hard to take down, but he's got good stand up. He's well-rounded with good shape. Those are the guys that are hard to beat. You start getting in the 185's, 205, heavyweight, they start being one-dimensional, two-dimensional fighters. They're not mixed martial artists. They're not as good as the 55-pounders and below. They're just not. To me that's just a fact."
The bold comments were attributed to what Thomson sees as questionable judging that has plagued the sport, costing him a chance to win a world title in Strikeforce and a UFC championship opportunity after he lost a decision to Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 10.
That leads to his next beef, which is that you don't need to tell him, to "not leave it in the hands of the judges" and go for a finish. He knows that all too well, trying to do it night in and night out. It's just not that easy when your taking on world class, well-rounded athletes all the time.
That's something that the bigger guys need to be told because they should have no excuses scoring stoppage wins. After all, they have many more ways to finish fights when they face one-dimensional opponents.
Last, and certainly not least, finishes in the lower weight classes are special because they don't come around very often.
"So you want to tell me 'don't leave it in the judges' hands,' but where am I supposed to take this fight where this guy isn't good? He's good at stopping submissions, he's good at wrestling, he's good as stand up and he's generally in great shape. Tell me how when we start talking 55 and below, these guy are phenomenal athletes and they're almost impossible to finish. People knock us for it, but guess what? Our weight classes are so much harder than the guys that are above us. Finishes like that are few and far between and you've got to be happy when you get them."
It's safe to assume that "The Punk's" proclamation won't sit too well with the bigger men, including his American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) stablemate, Cain Velasquez, who just so happens to be UFC's Heavyweight champion, as well as one of the most-well rounded fighters in the game today.
But, maybe he's the exception.
For what it's worth, if you're looking to the current pound-for-pound rankings for something to either crush or aid Thomson's remarks, you won't get any help, as all of the spots are divided equally at seven between those competing at 155 pounds and below and those competing at 185-pounds and above.
The remaining spot, ironically enough, goes to Johny Hendricks, the only Welterweight -- a division that's in limbo, according to Josh -- who made the cut.
How about it, Maniacs. Is Thomson -- who takes on Bobby Green this weekend (Sat. July 26, 2014) at UFC on FOX 12 -- way off base with his assessment or does he actually have a valid point?