James Thompson (fighter)
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Template:MMAstatsbox James "The Colossus" Thompson (born December 16 1978) is a British mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights as a heavyweight for PRIDE in Japan and Cage Rage in the UK. He is characterized by his size, strength, affable way of speaking and humility. In interviews he has described his occupations before fighting in MMA as "debt collector" and "Gypsy remover",[1] though he has not elaborated on the latter.
Thompson is known for his tendency to stare down his opponents, similar to that of Wanderlei Silva. He starts quickly, crashing into opponents as soon as the match starts. He calls this strategy the "gong 'n dash", which he has used to overwhelm and finish off various opponents. James Thompson has also never lost or won by decision. His punk image and rowdy brawling style earned him the nickname "Megapunk" and his fan base often refers to themselves as the James Thompson War Wagon.
Thompson's Professional MMA Debut
James Thompson began his Mixed Martial Arts career fighting for noted “old school” UK-MMA event, Ultimate Combat. Thompson made his professional debut against Mark “The Shark” Goddard at Ultimate Combat 6: Battle in the Cage. The fight ended by Referee Stoppage at the 1:39 mark of Round 2, with Thompson the victor. Goddard disputed the result, saying that Thompson had tapped earlier to one of his Armbar attempts. This sparked a rivalry between the two, which would later be resolved in spectacular fashion at Ultimate Combat 8: Retribution where Thompson pounded out a victory in only 18 seconds.
The Birth of “Gong and Dash”
James Thompson’s second fight at Ultimate Combat saw the birth of what would go on to become Thompson’s trademark, and something that was later christened by Japanese Pride FC fans “Gong and Dash”.
Thompson came in dramatically bigger and better shape for his second fight. Psyched-up beyond belief but totally focused, Thompson stormed to the ring with his original trainer, Kevin O’Hagen, in tow. From the other side of the Octagon, motionless but utterly fearsome, Thompson fixed his pacing opponent (Ritchie Cranny) with an unblinking stare. The look in Thompson’s eye said that he was the King of the Jungle and Cranny was his helpless prey. As soon the bell went for Round 1, Thompson tore across the ring and brought a style more commonly seen in a Saloon Bar than in a Mixed Martial Arts match. Using this high octane, peddle to the floor, method Thompson destroyed the game Ritchie Cranny. From then on, the entrance, the stare down and fighting style became Thompson’s own.
The key to “Gong and Dash’s” success is it takes the recipient completely out of their comfort zone. Every fighter has their own rhythm that they perform best at and one of the keys to winning a Martial Arts bout is to impose your rhythm upon the other. The fighter that controls the rhythm of a bout will invariably control the fight. It is difficult to defend against “Gong and Dash” because how ever you try and fight it, it will result in an all out brawl where technique is easily thrown out of the window in a bid for survival. While Thompson was not noted for his technical skill in the early days, there was no one who could stand toe-to-toe with him.
Thompson’s bull-rush style appealed massively to the MMA fans, especially the less well-versed spectators who came to see “Cage Fighting” rather than a chess like and technical Mixed Martial Arts bout. Thompson’s “Gong and Dash” steam train path through all put in front of him made him a mammoth fan favourite.
“The Colossus”
Due to his stature and imposing presence, James Thompson was christened “The Colossus” after the Sixth Wonder of the World. The Colossus of Rhodes was an ancient statue of Greek god Helios that guarded the port of Rhodes between 292-280BC.
First Stop For The Thompson Steam Train
The James Thompson Steam Train’s first stop happened at Ultimate Combat X when he met the Georgian born battle-tank, Tengiz Tedoradze. Tengiz, who was (and still is) regarded as Britain’s top-ranked Heavyweight fighter, managed to stuff Thompson’s charge and take “The Colossus” in to his world. On the ground, Tengiz beat Thompson in to a bloody pulp over two rounds. Stopped by the Doctors between rounds, Thompson’s first defeat was his bitterest and one he still desires to avenge!
Down But Not Out!
The defeat strengthened Thompson’s resolve even further. He was then offered an Ultimate Combat World Championship bid against ageing Mixed Martial Arts legend, Dan “The Beast” Severn at Ultimate Combat 11: Eyes of the Beast.
That was not all! On the day of his title bout with “The Beast” James Thompson was told out of the blue that he had been offered a fight at the world’s greatest Mixed Martial Arts event, Pride FC…
This was huge news to Thompson because it made him the UK’s first Mixed Martial Artist to compete in Pride’s ring, only preceded by English Boxer and Kickboxer, Matt Skelton.
Despite his head reeling with the news, Thompson went on to defeat “The Beast” Dan Severn and win the Ultimate Combat World Title Belt.
From then on he went to fight at Pride 28: High Octane and the rest, as they say, is history…
James Thompson in Pride
After defeating Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Dan Severn at Ultimate Combat 11, he came to PRIDE to face Aleksander Emelianenko. Thompson literally shook with rage and anticipation, and despite losing the fight in only 11 seconds, he remained with PRIDE, earning quick and violent victories over Henry Miller and Giant Silva. Thompson also continues to fight in the UK in organizations such as Cage Rage.
In the PRIDE Shockwave 2006 event on 31st December 2006, Thompson caused an upset when he defeated Olympic judo gold medalist and renowned heavyweight fighter Hidehiko Yoshida. This fight boosted Thompson's fan base significantly, though he soon fell back to earth in his next fight, where he was stopped by Eric "Butterbean" Esch at Cage Rage 21.
His last fight was a TKO win over Don Frye at PRIDE 34 on April 8, 2007.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Bas Rutten as a commentator states that Thompson is a debt collector during Thompson's match against Aleksander Emelianenko
External links
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