Josh Thomson: Ben Henderson more of a threat than UFC champ Anthony Pettis
Josh Thomson was next in line for a shot at the UFC lightweight title after knocking Nate Diaz out last April. New champion Anthony Pettis was forced to pull out of his Dec. title defense against Thomson because of a knee injury, however, and now Thomson will fight former champ Benson Henderson in Jan. at the UFC on Fox 10 card in Chicago.
According to Thomson, he not only lost a chance at grabbing UFC gold when Pettis got injured, he was also stuck with a much tougher opponent. "Benson is more of a threat than Pettis was," Thomson told Steph Daniels during a recent interview.
"Not to mention that this is the opportunity to fight someone that has been the champ for the last couple years. For me, I think Benson has the bigger name. Not to take anything away from Pettis, but Henderson has been more active over the last two years, so there was no way I could pass on this opportunity."
A disappointed Thomson also expressed confusion as to why Pettis will not fight him with a torn PCL.
"My focus really was the title, and it sucks that it happened the way it did, especially given that it was a PCL injury," he said.
"I've gone through that same injury myself, and I fought that third fight with Gilbert [Melendez] with a torn PCL, which is why I'm kind of confused as to why Pettis is not fighting. I feel that it's something you can work through, and there's not very much they can do for it."
In the end, "The Punk" says he is excited to fight Henderson. He believes their main event bout will be an exciting one for the fans to watch.
"I feel that with myself and with Benson, we really take the fight everywhere. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, we have the ability to seize it," he said.
"I've told people before, I'm not the best in anything. I'm not the best stand-up guy, I'm not the best grappler, I'm not the best wrestler. The thing is, I have the ability to put a lot of things together and keep you guessing. Ben is the same way, and that makes both of us very dangerous."
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