Former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson is hanging up the gloves for good, as MMA veteran revealed in an interview with
MMA Fighting that he’s officially retired from the sport:
“I can say that I’m officially retired,” Thomson said on Weighing In,
“I can finally say it. And the thing is that you have to say it sometimes just to say what you just said, because I realized I was taking more shots than I should have been taking. And I don’t want to live that lifestyle, I didn’t want to be in there as a punching bag to anybody."
The damage that his body has suffered throughout his career was the ultimate factor in deciding to walk away from the sport:
“[Melendez has] taken more damage in probably the last three or four than he took in almost his whole career,” he said.
“And I looked at myself too, and I felt like I hadn’t taken a whole lot of damage up until the Tony Ferguson fight. I took that fight, (and I) took a ton of damage in that fight. Then I went to Bellator, one fight, really no damage, second fight, really no damage, but I could also feel the difference of when I got hit and how I felt when I got hit, versus just walking through it.”
“Once you know, I could come to grips with that, every day I would tell myself, ‘Dude, you’re getting hit and you feel these shots now.’ I never used to feel them. Now when you feel them you’re like, this isn’t the same, this is not what I fell in love with. This feeling of training and getting hit, it’s not the same any more.”
Since 2001, the veteran MMA fighter has competed professionally inside of the octagon for numerous promotions, but noticeably, UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator MMA.
The California native has had some memorable bouts against the likes of Nate Diaz, Benson Henderson, and Tony Ferguson. Thomson would win the Strikeforce Lightweight title on June 27, 2008, besting Gilbert Melendez. However, the 41-year-old would drop the belt back to Melendez after only one successful title defense.
Following his second run in the UFC, Thomson fought in Bellator MMA; however, his stint in the promotion had mixed results, as Thomson won two out of three fights. Still, Thomson had an impressive run within the sport overall, as he finishes his career with 22 wins, 9 losses, and 1 no contest.