In a PunchDrunkGamer exclusive, Dave Carpinello had the chance to talk with Strikeforce’s Josh “The Punk” Thomson about his recovery from shoulder surgery, Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le and what fighters he is looking forward to stepping into the cage with.
PDG: Let's start with your recovery from your shoulder surgery; how is it feeling now?
Josh: Last Wednesday was seven weeks since the procedure and it is doing well. I am a little bit ahead of schedule but I really won't know for sure until I can test it in about another month. I just got cleared to swim, jump rope and lift weights. I am working on the strengthening and conditioning part of the rehab now.
PDG: Can you describe exactly what the injury was and what the doctors had to do to repair it?
Josh: I tore the labrum on the back side of my shoulder. Basically the cartilage between the muscle and the bone tore. So the doctors put two anchors through on the back side through the cartilage and into the bone to pull them back together. Since I had been training with the injury I also developed some problems on the front end of the shoulder. So the doctors had to put two more anchors in from the front side of my shoulder.
PDG: You said it has been seven weeks since the procedure, what is the usual timeframe for a full recovery from this injury?
Josh: The doctors originally told me about three months. They told me it would be at least eight weeks until I could start hitting again. I've been doing a little bit of punching but it has been more like the "Mayweather" workout..........Tap, tap, tap, tap. In the meantime I've been working on a lot of lower body strengthening. Riding the bike, working a lot of kicks and running stairs. About any training I can do to keep my mind off the fact that I can't fight yet.
PDG: How many hours daily are you working out now?
Josh: I do about an hour and a half in the morning and then about three hours at night. My morning workout is more about conditioning, you know running sprints and that kind of stuff. In the evening I do my lifting and the revolving stairs. So all in all I put in about five hours each day.
PDG: So fans should expect to see you back in action again this summer?
Josh: Yes, I am scheduled right now to fight again in June. We'll just see how the rehab and training goes. I will be going to Hawaii this week for [Phil] Baroni's fight and so I will be getting some work in at the local gym there. After that I will be home for a couple of weeks and then I am traveling to France to train with some guys there. Hopefully when I get back from there I will be ready to start my fight camp to prepare for June.
PDG: Do you have an idea of who your opponent is going to be yet?
Josh: Everyone wants to see me fight Gilbert [Melendez] and so we have had talks about that fight. To be honest, he is coming off of his first loss and he probably wants a tune-up fight before the two of us square off. As a friend and fellow fighter I can relate to that because he probably wants to get his head clear before we fight. I want to make sure that I am fighting Gilbert at his best. He is a top five fighter and that is the Gilbert that I want to fight.
PDG: He is fighting on the March 29th card for Strikeforce; wouldn't that be considered his tune-up fight for a match with you?
Josh: Yes, he is fighting that Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Cristiano Marcello. Hopefully that will be the tune-up fight and don't get me wrong, it goes both ways because of my shoulder injury. Gilbert also wants to wait until I am at 100% before he fights me. We will both definitely be on that card in June but I don't know yet if we will be fighting each other. I mean, if I feel good and all my training goes really well, then I don't mind fighting him in June. Since both of us are basically local to the San Jose area, I would prefer to fight him here and that the event in June is not in San Jose. I am a San Jose boy and he is from San Francisco, so I think the fight would be better for both of us if it was held in San Jose. Either way the two of us are going to meet in the cage eventually.
PDG: If not San Jose, where is the June event going to take place?
Josh: From what I have heard we will be back at the Playboy Mansion. I definitely wouldn't mind headlining that card [laughs].
PDG: Yeah, you told me you had a pretty good time at the last event there.
Josh: I had a great time. The only thing is that my fight and Gilbert's fight were the last two on the card that night, so we didn't end up fighting until like 12:45 at night. This time it is supposed to be a day event with the fights starting at three o'clock and the main event somewhere around seven o'clock. The two of us are generally looked at as the guys who like to party and by the time we got done fighting at the last one, we only had about a half hour to slam down some drinks. So a day party/fight in June at the Playboy Mansion is definitely going to be something you don't want to miss.
PDG: Your good buddy Frank Shamrock is fighting Cung Le in about three weeks. How do you think this fight will go?
Josh: Frank is a mystery to a lot of people, no one thought he was going to come out and stand with Baroni but that is exactly what he did. I think that threw Baroni's game off a little bit. I know Frank pretty well as I used to do some sparring and training with him. I kind of know how his brain operates and I think he will come out and try to stand with Cung. He thinks his boxing is good and so he will try to use that to get into Cung’s face. I'm sure Frank thinks his boxing is that of a pro-level fighter but I can assure you that it is not. Frank is a legend in his own mind and so he will try to impose that on Cung in this fight. He will constantly try to push the pace of the fight while he looks to get a takedown or catch Cung in the clinch. I am sure that Frank thinks he is safer the closer he is to Cung. I also think deep down in his mind he remembers sparring with Cung years ago and so I'm sure he also remembers how many times he was dropped in those sparring sessions. If he goes into the clinch with Cung, that will be a mistake and he will get thrown to the ground. The bottom line is that the fight always starts on the feet and Cung is better than Frank in the standup game. I have to favor Frank for this fight as far as experience is concerned but I am going to have to take Cung to win this fight.
PDG: Some people have said that maybe Cung may have bitten off more than he can chew by taking this fight so early in his MMA career.
Josh: Those people are wrong and they should stop sitting around talking about what opponents he has beaten and who he should fight. He has fought UFC veteran's, I just don't understand what the hell these people are talking about. Sam Morgan knocked out Duane Ludwig, fought in the UFC and was on that reality show. Tony Frykland has also fought in the UFC. He may have only had four or five fights so far in MMA but the competition level has been very high. If the guy goes out there against Frank in goes the full five rounds and still loses. Give the guy some fucking credit............obviously he is still in the transition a little bit, learning the ground game and working on submissions. He is an athlete with a God-given talent for fighting. When he used to spar with Frank back in the day, a lot of people will remember that he used to throw Frank around like a rag doll, like his little sister. It was almost a joke how bad he worked Frank over back then. I am sure Frank remembers that. Cung is a good wrestler, has great throws and he kicks like a mule. The longer the fight goes the more pressure that will be on Frank to score points.
PDG: Other than that fight, what upcoming matches are you looking forward to seeing and what other fighters would you like to step in the cage with?
Josh: [Jorge] Mazvidal for sure, I'm a big fan of his and I like watching him fight. Everyone knows that our paths are going to cross someday soon. Ryan Healy is also a guy that I like to watch fight and I also anticipate fighting him somewhere down the road. I'm a big fan of all these guys at 155 pounds and I enjoy watching all of them fight. Without a doubt, Mazvidal is a great fighter but even he knows I am going to kick his ass. Same thing with Healy. Gilbert and myself are at the top of the food chain in Strikeforce and when those guys come over to fight us they are going to find that out. The same thing goes for Gilbert, when we fight I am going to beat him. I have that mentality now and I know where my game is at now. I don't see anywhere that Gilbert can beat me. These are the three guys in Strikeforce and Bodog that I am looking forward to fighting. I respect all three of them a lot but I should not lose any one of these fights. They are coming here to fight me and I will be ready. I want to fight the best guys regardless of where they are from, whether it be the UFC, from Japan, I don't care where they come from.
PDG: If you didn't have that mentality than you probably wouldn't be a fighter for very long.
Josh: You know what though?, there are a lot of guys out there that don't want to fight the best. They are just looking for a paycheck regardless of who the opponent is. Don't get me wrong I am definitely fighting to get paid but my love for the sport has always been there. My first few fights, I fought for absolutely nothing, zero money. After that my next couple of fights only paid me $150 each. I was fighting bigger guys with more experience and making next to nothing. I may be making a lot more money nowadays but the passion to fight the best fighters out there still hasn't changed.
PDG: Now that you have been with Strikeforce for awhile; how would you say your experience has been working for them?
Josh: Working for the UFC you can be a superstar, working for Strikeforce you get paid very well and you get to fight a lot of top competition that some MMA fans have not heard of yet. As long as Strikeforce and Scott Coker continue to bring in top fighters in my weight class, I will have no reason to look elsewhere. I want to fight the top guys and right now they are bringing them to Strikeforce. It is a great organization and I don't have any complaints.
PDG: I appreciate your time Josh, is there anything else that you would like to add?
Josh: You always have to thank the fans and the sponsors; Tapout, Knoxx, AKA, of course and Dave Camarillo. His jui-jitsui programs keep me going, Javier Mendez and “Crazy” Bob Cook and I have to thank you for the great interviews.
