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Luke Thomas (journalist)

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Luke Thomas
Born (1979-08-05) August 5, 1979 (age 45)
Republic of India
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist for CBS Sports & Showtime
Years active2006–present
Children1

Luke Thomas (born August 5, 1979[1]) is an American combat sport analyst.[2] As of October 2020, he works for CBS Sports. Between 2007 and 2019, Thomas worked as an MMA journalist[3][4][5][6] and radio host.[7][8][9]

Early life

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Thomas was born in 1979[1] in the Republic of India[10][11] to an American foreign service officer father and a Syrian-Armenian mother who lived in Lebanon.[12][13][14][15] Thomas mostly grew up in Washington, D.C., but lived in Marietta, Georgia for two years, graduating from Marietta High School.[16][17] He graduated from The College of William & Mary.[18] Between 1998 and 2005[19] he served in Battery H of the 3rd Battalion 14th Marines in Richmond, Virginia,[16] reaching the rank of sergeant.[18]

While in college he started training in Judo, and while serving in the military he participated in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.[20]

Career

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Thomas has been dedicatedly following mixed martial arts since 2004.[16]

Between February 2006[21] and May 2007[22] (inactive between July 2006 and March 2007[23]), Thomas founded and wrote commentary on his MMA dedicated blog Mad-Squabbles.com,[22][24][25][26] with his online identity known as Mad Squabbles.[27][28] In March 2007, the MMA website Fightopinion.com began promoting his articles.[29][30] Fightlinker.com described the blog as "probably the best blog i've seen pop up in the past six months. Definately [sic] worth bookmarking and visiting every day."[31] From April 2007, MMA website UFCmania.com (acquired by SB Nation in 2009 as MMAmania.com[32]) selected Mad Squabbles as one of its MMA beat reporters for its official MMA fighter ranking poll.[33]

Between 2008 and late 2010,[19] Thomas was color commentating live broadcast fight cards for the regional MMA promotion Ultimate Warrior Challenge.[34][35]

Between 2008 and 2012,[19] he was host to sports talk radio show MMA Nation on WJFK-FM (CBS Radio's 106.7 The Fan).[36][37] From 2012[19] to August 2020,[38] he was the host of The Luke Thomas Show on Sirius XM radio (Rush, channel 93).[39][40][41][42]

Between 2007 and 2011,[19] contrary to a common misconception,[24][43][44] Thomas was not the founder or co-founder of SB Nation's first MMA sports blog Bloody Elbow (launched February 15, 2007[45]). Founder Nate Wilcox (Kid Nate) recruited Thomas to help run it on May 21, 2007.[22][24][25][26] Thomas eventually became editor-in-chief of BloodyElbow.com.[20][46] It was reviewed as one of the best MMA news & media blogs online.[20][47][48][49] Currently, it is the 5th most popular MMA media & news website worldwide according to Alexa Internet.[50]

From 2011 to 2019,[19] Thomas was an MMA senior editor at SB Nation[51] and senior editor at MMAFighting.com[52] (acquired by SB Nation November 2011 from AOL[53]); a 2 million unique users per month website in 2011,[53] and currently the #3 most popular MMA media & news website worldwide according to Alexa Internet.[50] Thomas was most notable on MMAFighting.com as a charter and regular panelist on The MMA Beat web series moderated by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani,[54][55] and for his weekly webcast Promotional Malpractice and podcast Monday Morning Analyst.[56]

In late 2019, Thomas was hired by ViacomCBS, initially working for Showtime[57] and later for CBS Sports.[58]

Since then, he has co-hosted a MMA/Boxing podcast called Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell. Morning Kombat also does post-fight reaction and analysis for PPVs and major events. Morning Kombat won Best MMA Programming 2021 at the World MMA Awards.[59]

Professional views

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Thomas stated he likes MMA fighting because "Struggle and fear tackled by athleticism, technical know-how and innate desires for self-preservation brings out a side in humanity that exists only in the deepest recesses of our being. MMA fighting has no peer when it comes to the demands the sport places on its participants both physically and psychologically. And I love watching that dynamic in action"".[20] But he hates everything else about the MMA world.[60] He thinks many of the individuals in the industry are "utterly detestable".[60] He suspects that "the majority of conversations [he has] with members of the fight community are either extended lies or at least contain a lie".[3] Therefore, he tries to keep his direct contact with MMA promotions to a minimum.[3][60]

He dislikes professional wrestling because "it sucks" and he doesn't like fiction.[61][62][63]

He is very irritated by MMA journalists or analysts who are "gigantic fat slobs". According to Thomas "One need not train five days a week to be a competent analyst of MMA, but experiencing the rigors of physical punishment certainly informs your judgment."[20]

Thomas,[64][65][66] and other MMA journalists and fans,[67][68][69][70][71][72][73] have criticized the UFC for putting on too many shows and thus diluting the quality of their product. On March 7, 2014; while watching Bellator 111 fight event which he reviewed on Mmafighting.com earlier that day,[74] Thomas tweeted "Dear ALL MMA Promoters: More MMA is not better. No one cares anymore. Better MMA is better. Please fix your product. Thanks in advance.". UFC president Dana White responded with the tweet "Dear whoever the hell u are. Nobody gives a shit what u think 02 is sold out and fans r pumped for 2 nite. Ur opinion=WGAF" (White was referring to March 8, UFC Fight Night 37 in London). When another Twitter member confronted White, tweeting " if nobody gives a shit what [Thomas] thinks, then why is he on @ufc countdown shows?" White responded with the tweet "I already said wont make that mistake again".[75] UFC Countdown shows are "UFC's documentary series profiling the fighters appearing in upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship events"[76] also featuring prominent MMA media members point of view.

Personal life

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In January 2014, following the reported suicide of MMA female fighter Cat Zingano's husband, Thomas shared that his mother took her own life when he was 23 years old (2003). Thomas described his loss "a pain that is torturous and inextinguishable".[77]

Thomas's wife is Colombian-born and was raised in Bogotá.[78] They have one daughter together.

Awards

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Thomas was a 2014 Journalist of the Year World MMA Awards nominee.[79]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Luke Thomas Talks a Good Fight". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "'Bigger than Ronda Rousey'". News.com.au. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Deitsch, Richard. "MMA media roundtable; more Media Circus". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "Brian Stann to Host New MMA Show on SiriusXM | Fight Network". Fight Network. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor: Why the super fight is almost an impossibility". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  6. ^ "Radio (1 p.m. ET): Chas Skelly, Luke Thomas, Richard Hunter, Sammy T. Squid, Jason Lackey". MMAjunkie. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  7. ^ "Russian Emelianenko brings big reputation to the States". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  8. ^ "Jon Jones USADA Arbitration a Marathon, Decision Pending". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  9. ^ "UWC-Confrontation Pre-Party with WJFK 106.7 | On The Mat". www.onthemat.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Thomas, Luke (January 16, 2008). "Couture, "Operation: All In" Raise $90,000". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  11. ^ "Born in India". Twitter (Luke Thomas verified account). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "LukeThomas/About". Google+ (Luke Thomas verified account). Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Luke Thomas on Tim Kennedy calling Edmond Tarverdyan 'terrorist sympathiser' • /r/MMA". Reddit (Luke Thomas verified account). November 29, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "Armenian Mother 1". Twitter (Luke Thomas verified account). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  15. ^ "Armenian mother 2". Twitter (Luke Thomas verified account ). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  16. ^ a b c "Episode 7: Luke Thomas unleashes the spinning piledriver | DC IMPROV | Comedy Club, Restaurant, Bar, School N.W. Washington D.C." The Improv. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  17. ^ "UFC 241 Full Breakdown". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Luke Thomas". MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "Lukethomasmma". LinkedIn. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Better Know a Blogger: Bloody Elbow's Luke Thomas". SB Nation. July 4, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  21. ^ "Blogger: User Profile: Luke (Archived)". Blogger (service). October 10, 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ a b c "MAD SQUABBLES: A Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Blog (Archived)". www.mad-squabbles.com. December 19, 2007. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ "So, are you blogging or what? (Archived)". www.mad-squabbles.com. June 29, 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ a b c "Ask Luke Anything: Why Did You Start BloodyElbow.com?". YouTube (Luke Thomas official channel). Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  25. ^ a b Haynes, Stephie (June 19, 2013). "The History of Bloody Elbow & notable Moments". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Farewell, my sweet Bloody Elbow logo... - Fightlinker.com | RM Sports". Fightlinker.com. September 25, 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  27. ^ "Major MMAMania.com announcement!". SB Nation (MMAmania.com). December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  28. ^ Galliford, Brian (May 29, 2007). "SB Nation Sports Report TONIGHT". SB Nation (BuffaloRumblings.com). Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  29. ^ "Wednesday hot topics". www.FightOpinion.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  30. ^ "Search Results "mad squabbles "". www.FightOpinion.com. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  31. ^ "Thursday MMA headlines | Fightlinker.com comment". March 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  32. ^ Thomas, Luke (December 29, 2008). "Huge Announcement: MMAMania.com Joins the SB Nation". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  33. ^ "UFC fighter rankings by UFCmania.com for April". SB Nation (MMAmania.com). Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  34. ^ "D.C. Sports Bog – Tommy the Green Ranger's local MMA debut". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  35. ^ "Is Ultimate Warrior Challenge the East Coast's Strikeforce?". MMAjunkie.com. November 30, 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  36. ^ Sharp, Andrew (June 16, 2010). "Dana White Is Kind Of Awesome". SB Nation. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  37. ^ Thomas, Luke (July 1, 2010). "UFC President Dana White Talks His "Zero" Interest in Fedor Emelianenko, Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin, the Delusion of James Toney and More on MMA Nation on 106.7 The Fan". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  38. ^ The Luke Thomas Show, archived from the original on May 19, 2020, retrieved October 8, 2020
  39. ^ "Luke Thomas". Sirius XM Radio. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  40. ^ "Luke Thomas Profile, Activity and Communities". SB Nation. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  41. ^ "Khabib Nurmagomedov Demands Title Shot; Threatens to Block UFC in Russia". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  42. ^ "Vitor Belfort offers suggestions to increase fighter pay in UFC". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  43. ^ Alexander, Mookie (June 6, 2013). "Luke Thomas talks Rampage, UFC fighter pay, more!". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  44. ^ Haynes, Stephie (April 7, 2016). "TAP: Luke Thomas, MVP, Rob Whiteford, George Lockhart". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  45. ^ "Bloody Elbow :: An SB Nation blog for fans of UFC and Mixed Martial Arts (Archived)". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). February 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  46. ^ Alexander, Mookie (June 6, 2013). "Former Bloody Elbow Editor in Chief Luke Thomas Joins". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  47. ^ "Best MMA Blog Sites – Top Picks (Archived)". www.kickassmma.com. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  48. ^ "TSJ's Top 10 MMA Websites (Archived)". www.thesportsjunkie.ca. January 11, 2011. Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  49. ^ Bemis, Brian (June 3, 2009). "Great MMA Web sites: My Top Choices". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  50. ^ a b "Alexa – Top Sites by Category: Sports/Martial Arts/Submission Fighting and MMA/News and Media". Alexa Internet. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  51. ^ "Luke Thomas – SBNation.com". SB Nation. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  52. ^ "Luke Thomas – MMA Fighting". www.mmafighting.com. SB Nation (MMAFighting.com). Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  53. ^ a b Ourand, John (November 7, 2011). "SB Nation Acquires Combat Sports Site MMA Fighting from AOL". American City Business Journals (SportsBusinessDaily.com). Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  54. ^ "The MMA Beat – Episode One". YouTube (MMAFighting.com official channel). September 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  55. ^ Schlinsky, Alex (June 6, 2015). "Luke Thomas Shares Qualms With New UFC Drug Policy". SB Nation (MMAMania.com). Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  56. ^ Cole, Ross (January 11, 2016). "10 MMA Podcasts Worth Checking Out (2016 Edition) – Page 4". www.mmainsight.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  57. ^ "Luke Thomas on leaving MMA Fighting: 'I was not sabotaging anyone's career'". www.bloodyelbow.com. May 5, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  58. ^ Tees, David (August 25, 2020). "Luke Thomas Heading To CBS Sports, Morning Kombat To Expand | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  59. ^ "2021 World MMA Awards Results". MMA Fighting. December 10, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  60. ^ a b c "I am Luke Thomas, MMA journalist: AMA • /r/MMA". Reddit. December 6, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  61. ^ "MMA writers Jordan Breen and Luke Thomas are disgusted with pro-wrestling fans using MMA for validation". www.fightopinon.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  62. ^ Gould, K. J. (August 28, 2010). "Luke Thomas' REAL Gripe About Pro Wrestling". www.cagesideseats.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  63. ^ Wilcox, Nate (September 7, 2010). "More on the Great "Keep Your Pro Wrestling Out of My MMA" Debate". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  64. ^ Thomas, Luke (August 5, 2013). "Signal to Noise: UFC 163's best and worst". SB Nation (MMAFighting.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  65. ^ "Live Chat: UFC Fight Night weekend preview, GLORY 17 recap, over saturation debate". YouTube (MMAFighting.com official channel). June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  66. ^ Helwani, Ariel (July 11, 2014). "MMA Beat on 176 cancellation, Rousey, Weidman, BJ". SB Nation (MMAFighting.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  67. ^ "UFC Aftermath: Trying to Understand the "Angry Watching" Phenomenon". The Province. April 14, 2015. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  68. ^ Iole, Kevin. "Dana White says business is booming, will have $175 million economic impact in Las Vegas this week". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  69. ^ Raimondi, Marc (March 11, 2015). "ONE CEO: Goal is to put on 50 shows per year". MMA Fighting. SB Nation (MMAFighting.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  70. ^ Schlinsky, Alex (November 15, 2014). "UFC 180 Details: Who is Fighting, When And Why". SB Nation (MMAmania.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  71. ^ Wyman, Patrick. "How the UFC Has Done More with Less in 2015". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  72. ^ "UFC's Oversaturation and Overcommitment Problems". www.mmanuts.com. April 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  73. ^ "MMA: Are too many shows watering down the sport?". www.FanSided.com. July 17, 2014. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  74. ^ Thomas, Luke (March 7, 2014). "Bellator 111 predictions". SB Nation (MMAFighting.com). Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  75. ^ "UFC President Dana White Should Respond to Criticism, Not Mock It". CagePotato. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  76. ^ "UFC Countdown". A. Smith & Co. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  77. ^ Wilcox, Nate (January 16, 2014). "Luke Thomas on mourning suicide and Cat Zingano". SB Nation (BloodyElbow.com). Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  78. ^ "Colombian wife". Twitter (Luke Thomas verified account). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  79. ^ Quigley, Paul. "7th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards winners list – Fighters Only Magazine". fightersonlymag.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
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