Josh Thomson: Bellator Feels Like Family, UFC Not So Much

Former UFC lightweight and Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson made his promotional debut for Bellator MMA this past Saturday in front of his home crowd.

It was a winning effort and afterwards Thomson had nothing but great things to say about his new boss and new promotion, which he considers to be like a family, something that was missing from the UFC.

Thomson talked on MMAJunkie Radio about the good vibes:

“The walkouts, the whole presentation – it has that PRIDE feel. If you look at all the exciting fights they did and the relationship with (Nobuyuki) Sakikibara for a new Japanese fighting organization, I think it’s going to be huge. From when I signed the contract to once we got there, it’s just a totally different feel.

“Phil Davis touched on it a little bit; you just feel rejuvenated. There’s something different when you show up to the venue, when you show up to the host hotel, and it just feels better. There’s not, I don’t want to call it negative energy, but you just feel relaxed and comfortable, like family.”

Thomson went on to talk about how his time in the UFC had a very different feel, with ‘interns’ walking around acting like bosses.

“There were a couple of times when you have interns talking to you in a manner, and you’re like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ And you don’t know who they are. They could be someone’s nephew or cousin or son that’s high up in that organization, where if you say something, you could put your foot in your mouth.

“The thing is, nine times out of 10, it was just an intern who was doing it for free or low pay. They’re talking to you like they’re a boss, and if you’re the talent, you don’t want to be talked to that way, especially for someone like myself, where I’ve been in the top organizations for 15 years now. And I’ve never been talked to in certain manners.”
Sounds like Thomson is pretty happy with his decision to change promotions. What are your thoughts on his comments, do you think more fighters will look to fight elsewhere because of some of the changes the UFC has gone through?

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