Known for his cerebral approach to the fight game, former STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson has found a way to succeed in the fight game while also being both exciting and smart in his fights. His most recent fight was a tough short-notice loss to Japanese superstar Tatsuya Kawajiri on New Year’s Eve. Now looking to rebound on American soil, Thomson is healthy and ready to unleash his skills on his next opponent in STRIKEFORCE. I spoke with Thomson recently to discuss his fighting career.

Johnny Preston: First off, how are you feeling physically after the bout with Kawajiri?

Josh Thomson: There are no injuries at all whatsoever from the fight. I mean, realistically, I just got held down. So there’s no damage. If you watch it, even when he was on top, there was no striking. I did more damage from the bottom than he did from on top. He was really worried about giving me any room to move, I guess for fear of me getting back up. But he did a really good job of controlling the top position without any damage, which you’re allowed to do in Japan. Here in the States, it’s a little bit different because they’ll stand you up. It’s just a different mentality.

JP: There is a lot of hype surrounding a proposed 3rd bout with you and Gilbert. Do you feel that’s on the backburner now? When would you see that fight happening?

JT: Gil and I have talked about putting the third fight off till the end of this year, and maybe into the middle of next year. I think that if we put it off more than two years that that’s when people will tend to forget about it. Another thing is that Gil is getting into his prime now. My thinking how is that me being 34 years old and fighting him at 30 years old would be a huge mistake on my part. Don’t get me wrong, 29 years old is still his prime. But I noticed that when I went from 29 to 30 to 31, even with a year off due to injury during that time, I have to tell you that I felt my best training during that time. Training during that time was awesome. Everything was clicking in my mind. As a fighter, I know that that’s his prime. I don’t exactly want to fight him when he’s going through that, but I recognize that that’s the best time for me to know if I still have it then. I agree with Gil that when we do fight again that it should be the main event. As far as this fight with Kawajiri, it doesn’t bug me. It doesn’t do anything to me. I’m an established name, and I’ve been fighting for thirteen, almost fourteen years now. As long as I don’t accumulate a bunch of losses in a row, it won’t hurt my stock much. I’m still a main fighter, and I’m still one of the best in the world. But I do understand that this is the fight game, and at the end of the day, it’s still a business. I lost, and I’m fine with being away from a title shot right now.

JP: When you’re finished with your career, what do you want to be able to look back on your career and say?

JT: I’ve always wanted people to realize that end of the day, this is the entertainment business. When people come and they pay $200, $400, $600 for a seat, I want them to feel like I gave them their money’s worth. And I feel like I have in every single one of my fights. I can’t think of a fight where I didn’t. Ironically, if there was a fight where that happened, it was the Kawajiri fight. I was held down, but when I did get up, I tried to do damage and finish the fight. When I’m done, I want the fans to remember me as someone that enjoyed fighting the whole time I did it. I’ve enjoyed fighting. To me, it’s not a job. It’s something I’ve truly enjoyed.

(by Johnny Preston of Strikeforce.com)