Strikeforce lightweight contender Josh Thomson may not be fighting Gilbert Melendez for a 4th time this September, but he does have a fight scheduled for the Melendez headlined card. In an interview with Sherdog over the weekend Thomson announced he was fighting Caros Fodor, and vowed to catch him when he makes a mistake.
“I think I’m better than [Fodor], he’s a good fighter and don’t get me wrong,” said Thomson. “I think I’m better than him all the way around though. I think I’m faster and quicker and got better stand-up. He’s probably a little bit stronger and hits harder but everyone is stronger and hits harder than me, you know. Like I said I’ve never been a strong guy and I’ve never been a heavy puncher, but I’ve got some speed and I got a little bit of jiu-jitsu, too. I can get around … so I think it’s going to be a great fight, and I’m looking just to pick him apart, and he’ll make a mistake, and all my years of experience I’ll make sure I’ll catch him on it.”
Thomson is coming off another very close rubber match against Melendez, this time losing by split decision and falling behind 2-1 in his series of fights with the current Strikeforce champion. Ever since that infamous head kick KO loss against Yves Edwards, Thomson has been one of the few long-time Strikeforce veterans, with almost all of his post-UFC fights taking place under their banner. He fought for the very first SF title, only to lose to Clay Guida. His 2008 victory over Melendez represents the last time Gilbert has lost in his career.
Fodor’s last fight was an arm-triangle choke loss to current challenger Pat Healy. The Matt Hume-trained Washingtonian has been a regular on the Challengers cards and when he was elevated to the main Strikeforce card he delivered a spectacular KO of Justin Wilcox in 13 seconds last December.
Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy will take place in Sacramento, California on September 29th as part of a full day of MMA, with UFC on FUEL 5 taking place in Nottingham, England earlier in the afternoon.
Here is the current fight card at a glance:
Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy (for Strikeforce Lightweight Championship)
Josh Thomson vs. Caros Fodor
Jorge Santiago vs. Quinn Mulhern
Isaac Vallie-Flagg vs. Adriano Martins
SBN Coverage of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy
You can view the video in full (WARNING: It plays automatically) after the jump.