'Big man on campus' Josh Thomson: I'll fight Bellator champ Michael Chandler on my terms

Bellator lightweight Josh Thomson professes not to enjoy his position in the Viacom-owned promotion.

At 38, he’s one of the older fighters on the roster. He’s also one of the bigger names, having fought for the UFC belt and sold out arenas during his time in now-defunct Strikeforce.

Thomson (22-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) gets opportunities that younger, less established fighters can only dream about. But his stature also means he’s thrown right into the fire against top contenders with little time for error.

Bellator chief Scott Coker needs fighters like Thomson to support “tentpole” events built around marquee talent. Coker also needs to make new stars, which is how Thomson could end up paired with a lesser-known fighter the promotion wants to push.

“I hate to say it, but I’m kind of the big man on campus when it comes to the show,” Thomson, who fights Patricky Freire on the Spike-televised main card of Saturday’s Bellator 172, told MMAjunkie. “It’s a (expletive) situation to be in.”

Thomson’s take is that whatever he does at this point in his career, he’ll still be remembered by MMA fans after so many high-profile fights. The only question now is whether he ends on a high note.

“If I win, they’re not going to talk about it forever,” he said. “If I lose, they’ll be like, ‘I remember all his great fights.’ These guys all want to have my name in their mouth to bring more attention to them.”

That includes Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler, who’s developed something of a rivalry with Thomson since he defected from the UFC to Bellator in 2015. The two were supposed to meet at Bellator 154 when Chandler was trying to win back the belt he lost to Will Brooks (who later defected to the UFC), but an injury forced Thomson to withdraw.

Now Chandler is the champ, and yet Thomson claims he’s in no great hurry to take a title fight if he beats Freire (16-8 MMA, 9-7 BMMA). Even with a belt at stake, Thomson treats it like another incursion on his legacy.

“I just feel that, with Chandler, he needs to have a little more self-respect for the title,” Thomson said. “You worked hard for it, you earned it, you are the champion – stop calling people out, dude. Don’t worry, the cream will rise to the top, and I’ll get you when it’s your turn.

“I’ll fight him when I want to fight him. I know he’s the champion, but whenever I decide I want to fight him, I’ll fight him. He had his opportunity to fight me this fight, on the biggest fight in Bellator history, and he turned it down. So whenever the opportunity comes up again, I’ll see if I can pencil you in.”

For Chandler, the feeling is mutual. But, of course, the story about how they got to this point is different.

Chandler counters that Thomson turned down a title offer for March or April – the timeframe he could prepare for a fight based on a 90-day suspension from his previous bout with ex-UFC champ Benson Henderson – and has no confidence Thomson will show after an injury scrapped a planned meeting at Bellator 154.

“I already gave him the opportunity,” Chandler countered on Thomson’s fight-dodging claim. “I was going to come into his hometown in front of his hometown crowd. I was going to give him that courtesy. Then, he pulled out of the fight, cost me a lot of money, cost me two months with my wife, and cost me a vacation to Costa Rica.

“So, no, I was not going to fight him in February, and I had a mandatory suspension. I did not turn down the fight. I simply made my demand that I wasn’t cleared, I needed to heal up from injuries sustained (against Henderson), and the last place I’m going to fight if I’m going to fight him is San Jose, because I already gave him the opportunity once.”

The lightweight champion said he’s looking for a different opponent to fight because Thomson “might sign a bout agreement, but he will not actually fight me.”

So where does that leave Thomson? At the moment, fighting Freire, who could use a bump after a vicious knockout loss to Chandler in his previous bout. There are plenty of other fighters who want a piece of his name, too.

The same goes for Chandler, who by default is the most desirable opponent because he holds the belt. In his case, he’s looking for an opponent that brings the most marquee value and will show up to fight. If you ask him, that’s not an easy task.

In other words, being the big man on campus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

For more on Bellator 172, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.