With all the controversy surrounding the situation between UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his ex-teammate, former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, talk of teammates fighting teammates has once again ignited the MMA world.
We spoke with Strikeforce lightweight and American Kickboxing Academy product Justin Wilcox about the issue last Thursday on Bloody Elbow Radio. Wilcox, who fights Rodrigo Damm in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 15 on April 1, talked about what his reaction would be if he got the call to fight his AKA teammate and good friend Josh Thomson, who is a former Strikeforce lightweight champion.
“You really don’t want to fight your teammates but I look at it like this: I want to be a world champ. I told Thomson and he told me, if he’s world champ and I’m next in line, I’m going to be like, ‘Hey buddy, we do this everyday in the gym, anyway, let’s get paid for it now.’ Like I said, I’m a fighter and I’ll fight anybody, you know? I probably won’t fight my mom, but pretty much I’ll fight anybody. That’s what I got into this sport for. I want to go out there and see who’s the best that day. Nothing personal. I want to see if I’m the best. It’s like if I used to get in scuffles in the street … I’d look at the guy and be like, ‘You think you’re bad? Let’s find out how bad you are, let’s go outside.’ That’s the way I look at it. Let’s find out who’s the baddest.”
With that attitude, there’s no doubt Wilcox (10-3 MMA) would be a favorite of UFC president Dana White, a man who is highly critical of teammates not wanting to fight teammates.