Thomson Hopes to Prove Bout Against Noons Should Have Been Strikeforce Main Event

Thomson, however, believes that he and Noons are going to prove their matchup should have been the main event.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re trying to outdo the main event,” Thomson told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “There’s a lot of hype around the main event so I think [we’re] two males who really want to try to prove to ourselves and to everybody else that we should have been the main event. I think that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Getting top billing over Thomson-Noons is Miesha Tate’s bantamweight title defense against Ronda Rousey. Rousey, a bronze medalist in judo at the 2008 Olympics, has been brash and dominant in her short time in MMA. Tate hasn’t cared for Rousey’s smack talk, though, and they’ve gone back and forth ahead of their title bout.

Regardless, Thomson expects his meeting with Noons to be the better fight.

“Obviously I come from a wrestling background, but honestly I think K.J.’s shown it’s going to take a lot of energy to get him down and then to hold him down,” Thomson said. “We’ve come into this [thinking] if the takedown’s easy, we’ll take it. If it’s not, then we won’t. If he’s able to kick and I catch a kick and take him down, then we’ll go with the takedown. But don’t expect me to go out there and just be trying to grind him away and taking him down.”

Both men are former titleholders. Thomson won the Strikeforce lightweight title in July 2008, and Noons was the first and last EliteXC lightweight champion. Although Noons has a reputation as one of the best strikers in the sport, Thomson said he won’t be afraid to engage on the feet.

“I think this is a situation where I’m more than comfortable standing with K.J.,” Thomson said. “I know he’s got some good hands. He’s very fast. I’ve noticed, just from his last fight, there’s no secret that he’s been working on his wrestling. He’s going to be even harder to take down. On top of that, he’s also been working on his kickboxing. You can tell. He was kicking a little bit more in his last fight. He came out kicking and he landed a good head kick on Billy [Evangelista].”

Thomson has also made changes. In particular he adjusted his training regimen in hopes of getting stronger and avoiding injuries. He thinks it has worked, too, which could prove critical to his career. With a win over Noons, Thomson may earn a third bout against lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

“I’m thinking with a good performance here, I get another title shot and I win the title,” Thomson said. “Then we’ll just take it as far as it can go.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:01:50).