UFC's Josh Thomson: Give me Anthony Pettis, then a title shot

LAS VEGAS – Josh Thomson‘s message to UFC officials is clear: Give me a fight with Anthony Pettis, and then give me the UFC lightweight title shot I’ve been awaiting for the past decade.

Thomson, in Las Vegas for UFC 162, spoke to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Wednesday about his recovery from minor knee and elbow surgeries, and his current plan for a September or October return to the cage.

“I’m just begging and pleading to Joe Silva and Dana White to give me the Pettis fight,” he said.

Thomson (20-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC), a longtime Strikeforce fighter, returned to the UFC in April and upset Nate Diaz via TKO at UFC on FOX 7. It marked the first’s knockout loss of Diaz’s career.

Pettis (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), meanwhile, recently was forced out of a featherweight title fight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163. Now, Pettis has said he wants to return to lightweight and possibly fight the winner of UFC 164's headliner between champion Benson Henderson and T.J. Grant. Initially, he wanted Grant’s spot, though Pettis’ recovery from a knee injury halted that possibility.

“You pull out of 145(-pound) fight, and from what I understand he’s waiting to fight the winner of T.J. and Benson, so I feel like I’m the guy,” Thomson said. “You need to get through me to get there. I’m the No. 1 contender right now. No one else is.”

Thomson, a former Strikeforce champion, said he’s been bugging company president White and matchmaker Silva for the matchup. And though he’s heard Pettis is content to hold out for the Henderson vs. Grant winner, Thomson said they can avoid the wait and put on a truly spectacular No. 1 contender’s bout.

“You don’t need to wait much longer,” he said. “I’m right here. You haven’t fought in more than a year, and the whole world wants to see me and you fight. And I’ll tell you right now, it’s not going the distance. Stylistically, someone’s getting knocked out. The fans will win with that fight.”

Thomson said it’s nothing personal with Pettis, who had already been promised a lightweight title shot before his move to featherweight for an immediate shot there. However, Thomson, who went 10-3 in Strikeforce after a short UFC stint that ended in 2004, knows he won’t get to the front of the line until someone else is out of the way.

“I’m a big fan of Pettis, and I have a lot of respect for him,” Thomson said. “But I feel like that they hold him on such a high pedestal that he’s the only thing standing between me and a title shot.”

Just as importantly, Thomson said, is the fact he’s been a top-level lightweight for more than 10 years. As the UFC’s lightweight division has seen the coming and going of fighters such as Jens Pulver, Yves Edwards, Caol Uno, Din Thomas and even B.J. Penn, Thomson remains right there in line, just like he was in his first UFC stint.

“You can only keep your mouth shut for so long,” he said. “You want that title, dude. That’s all you want. My whole career has been about that title, and there’s not a bigger title in the f—ing world.”

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(Pictured: Josh Thomson)