Injury, opponent present title-fight challenges for Josh Thomson
By MMA Junkie Staff June 26, 2008 3:00 pm Follow	@MMAjunkie
By MMA Junkie Staff | June 26, 2008 3:00 pm	Follow @MMAjunkie
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Josh Thomson was forced to work without one of his traditional training partners in preparation for the biggest fight of his career Friday night in San Jose, Calif.
The decision wasn't by choice, but rather necessity. His usual training partner happens to be Gilbert Melendez – the opponent he faces at the HP Pavilion for the Strikeforce lightweight title.
"He's trained with me for the last two years," Thomson told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) this week. "He's like my go-to guy when I have a fight coming up, and I feel the same for him. We usually get some grappling in, some sparring in. So, now, the fact that we're fighting each other, we really don't have our go-to guys — someone our weight, someone to come in and work with us."
This time out, Thomson relied exclusively on the quality stable of fighters at American Kickboxing Academy to prepare for Melendez, who represents arguably the toughest test of his eight-year career.
Unfortunately for Thomson, the timing of the fight is less than ideal. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder during training just two weeks after notching his sixth consecutive victory, a TKO of Adam Lynn at the Strikeforce Playboy Mansion show this past September. The injury worsened after the first of the year, and by mid-January, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage.
Thomson has been rehabbing ever since and knows he will not be 100 percent against Strikeforce's 155-pound champion.
"Not at all, not even close," he said. "It's as good as it's going to get for the fight, and mentally, I prepared myself for that. The shoulder should be good enough to do what I need to do."
Thomson, who has pushed through twice-a-day rehab sessions to strengthen the shoulder and improve his range of motion, made some necessary adjustments to his training to get as prepared as possible. He doesn't expect the shoulder to be a distraction come fight night.
Some friends and training partners have vowed never to cross paths in the cage, but that was never the case with Thomson and Melendez (14-1), who recognized early on that a pairing would make for an enticing battle.
"It's a business, and we know that," said Thomson (14-2), who admits to dialing down some of the brazenness that earned him the nickname "The Punk" early in his career. "We were prepared for that. In the beginning when we started training together, we knew there was a chance that we'd fight. We knew at some point in time, we would both eventually end up on top. And that's where we are now. I'm looking forward to this fight and what we bring to the sport. His aggressiveness and my aggressiveness … I think it's going to make for a great fight, a potential fight of the year."
In breaking down the match-up, Thomson, 29, stopped short of conceding the standup game to Melendez. However, he's clearly leery of his opponent's power, especially with the right hand. Thomson gives himself the edge in submissions but knows Melendez has outstanding takedown defense.
With a surgically repaired shoulder being tested for the first time and a nearly nine-month layoff, Thomson has a lot working against him going into this fight, but finally facing his respected training mate was an opportunity he couldn't put off.
"I'm not looking at the belt; I'm looking at Gilbert," he said. "Beating Gilbert is going to be more gratifying than having that belt. Throughout my career, not a lot of people have liked me or have not given me the credit I felt I deserved. I'm just looking to go out there and prove that I am a top lightweight and that I should be given some credit in the sport."
Sounds like "The Punk" is growing up.
Steve Sievert is the Lead Staff Writer and business columnist for MMAjunkie.com. He is also the former MMA beat writer and blogger for the Houston Chronicle.