James Thompson (fighter)

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James Thompson
Thompson at the media event
Born (1978-12-16) 16 December 1978 (age 45)
Rochdale, England
Other namesThe Colossus
NationalityEnglish
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Super-heavyweight
Reach77 in (196 cm)
TeamOlympians MMA
Years active2003–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total39
Wins20
By knockout13
By submission5
By decision2
Losses17
By knockout13
By submission3
By decision1
No contests2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

James Thompson (born 16 December 1978) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. A seasoned professional competitor since 2003, Thompson has also formerly competed for PRIDE FC, Bellator MMA, Cage Rage, EliteXC, Sengoku, DREAM, KSW, Rizin, and the SFL. He last fought for Bellator in 2017.

Background[edit]

Born in England, Thompson grew up in Rochdale playing rugby league. Widely considered to be a talented player, at one point in time he did consider pursuing a professional career in rugby. Ultimately, he ended up working as debt collector and nightclub bouncer, whilst also competing in amateur bodybuilding.[1][2] Thompson then took up the sport of wrestling and competed in several matches before eventually seeing an MMA bout featuring Don Frye (whom he would later fight and beat at PRIDE 34: Kamikaze), which ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Thompson began his mixed martial arts career fighting in the British promotion Ultimate Combat (UC). He developed a rivalry with Mark "The Shark" Goddard after their bout in Ultimate Combat 6: Battle in the Cage. Thompson won the bout by referee stoppage, but Goddard disputed the result, saying that Thompson had tapped earlier to one of his armbar attempts. A rematch at Ultimate Combat 8: Retribution resulted in an 18-second knockout victory for Thompson. After five straight victories, he faced his first loss to Georgian Tengiz Tedoradze at Ultimate Combat X. Tedoradze managed to stop Thompson's initial charge and won by doctor stoppage after the second round. Thompson bounced back with a UC Championship bout against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Dan Severn at Ultimate Combat 11: Eyes of the Beast.

PRIDE[edit]

After defeating Severn, Thompson made his PRIDE Fighting Championship debut at PRIDE 28 to face Alexander Emelianenko at PRIDE 28: High Octane. Despite losing the fight in only eleven seconds, he remained with the organisation, earning quick victories over Henry Armstrong Miller and Giant Silva. Thompson became known to Pride fans for his penchant for rushing at opponents at the opening bell, which became known as 'Gong and Dash'. During this time, Thompson alternated appearances in Japan with fights in British organisations such as Cage Rage.

Thompson's career took a downturn with three consecutive losses to Kazuyuki Fujita, Rob Broughton and Jon Olav Einemo. However, he followed up with an upset victory over Olympic judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida at PRIDE Shockwave 2006. He next suffered a quick KO at the hands of super heavyweight boxer Eric 'Butterbean' Esch at Cage Rage 20. In his final appearance in Pride, Thompson dominated against UFC veteran Don Frye to a first round stoppage at PRIDE 34. Thompson followed up with his final appearance in Cage Rage, losing to Neil "Goliath" Grove by knockout in just 10 seconds. Thompson cited a lack of quality heavyweight training partners for his poor performances, and switched training camps to join Randy Couture's Xtreme Couture.[3]

EliteXC[edit]

Thompson made his EliteXC debut against undefeated 8-0 fighter Brett Rogers at the EliteXC: Street Certified on 16 February 2008. Rogers knocked Thompson out in the first round. Despite this loss, Thompson followed up with a headlining appearance at EliteXC: Primetime against streetfighter Kimbo Slice. Entering the fight with a considerably swollen cauliflower ear, Thompson managed to control the first two rounds with effective ground and pound.[4] However, both fighters came into the third round substantially winded. Slice landed several unanswered blows to Thompson's face whilst on his feet, one of which burst his cauliflower ear, prompting the referee to stop the fight and declare a TKO in Slice's favour.

Strike Box/Titans Fighting incident[edit]

On 6 February 2009, Thompson fought Steve Bossé at Strike Box/Titans Fighting's inaugural event in Quebec, Canada. The event was originally scheduled to be under Strike Box's own rules where only boxing, takedowns and standing submissions were allowed, but the rules were not accepted by the province's athletic commission in time for the event. It was therefore conducted under MMA rules instead. Before the event some fighters agreed to fight under Strike Box's proposed rules as a gentleman's agreement, though the referee in charge would not have any choice but to allow ground fighting were it to happen. Thompson, who later claimed to be unaware of the agreement, proceeded to take down, mount and ground and pound Bosse - as allowed under MMA rules - after Bosse went for a standing guillotine choke at the start of the fight. This caused the audience to boo Thompson and the referee, unaware of that the fight was being conducted under MMA rules. Beer cans and eventually chairs were then thrown into the ring, prompting referee Yves Lavigne to stop the match. Although it was originally declared a no contest[5][6] the fight and its result doesn't appear on either fighter's official fight records.

Sengoku[edit]

Thompson's fought on 20 March at Sengoku 7 against New Zealand fighter Jim York, which he lost by KO.[7]

DREAM[edit]

Thompson lost a fight with Alistair Overeem on 25 October 2009 at Dream 12[8]

Strikeforce[edit]

Thompson revealed at the Dream 12 press conference that he had three more fights for his Strikeforce contract.

ZT Fight Night: The Tournament[edit]

Thompson competed in the ZT Fight Night Tournament for £10,000 along with 7 other fighters on 30 January 2010. He avenged his first career loss against Tengiz Tedoradze in the quarterfinals, his first win in nearly three years, breaking a five-loss streak. He was then knocked out by the eventual tournament winner, Rob Broughton.

DREAM return[edit]

Rumours that Thompson could face Ikuhisa Minowa at DREAM 16 surfaced.[9] However it was later revealed that Minowa would face Satoshi Ishii at DREAM 16.[10][11] Thompsony instead fought DEEP veteran Yusuke Kawaguchi and lost via a controversial Split Decision. Many believed the two majority decision judges were biased towards the Japanese home country fighter after Thompson retained top position and did much more damage at the end of the first and throughout the second round.[12]

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki[edit]

Thompson fought five-time "World’s Strongest Man" Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW XVI on 21 May 2011.[13] He won the fight via submission in the second round.

In the rematch at KSW XVII, Thompson lost a controversial decision. After the fight, he launched a profane verbal assault directed at the promotion. Two days later the promotion changed the result to a No Contest, claiming an error in scorecard tallying. Thompson, however, has not participated in any subsequent KSW events.

Super Fight League[edit]

Thompson fought in the main event of the Super Fight League's inaugural event, SFL 1, against Bob Sapp. He won the fight when Sapp injured his leg as he was being taken down by Thompson, forcing him to tap out to the injury.[14]

He next competed at Super Fight League 3 against Bobby Lashley.[15] The outcome was yet another close and controversial decision, this time going unanimously in Thompson's favour, giving him his first winning streak since 2005.

UXC[edit]

Thompson returned to action once his orbital bone had healed from his previous war with Lashley on 1 March 2014 against UFC veteran Colin Robinson, as part of the UXC 2 card at the Odyssey Arena, Northern Ireland. He won via arm triangle choke in the second round.

Bellator MMA[edit]

It was announced on 23 May that Thompson had been signed by Bellator MMA and would make his promotional debut against Eric Prindle in the headlining bout of Bellator 121 on 6 June 2014. Thompson dominated Prindle and won by TKO in the first round at 1:55 minutes.

Thompson was expected to face UFC veteran Houston Alexander in the co-main event on 17 October 2014 at Bellator 129. However, on 10 October 2014 it was announced that Thompson was pulled from the fight due to injury.[16]

Thompson was scheduled to face Bobby Lashley in a rematch at Bellator 134 on 27 February 2015.[17] However, Lashley pulled out of the fight due to injury.[18] The fight was rescheduled for 19 June 2015 at Bellator 138.[19] In early June, it was revealed that Dan Charles would instead face Lashley at the event due to an injury sustained by Thompson.[20]

The rematch with Lashley eventually took place on 6 November 2015 at Bellator 145.[21] Thompson lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

In April 2016, Bellator President Scott Coker announced on ESPN’s SportsCenter that Thompson would have a rematch against Kimbo Slice in the main event of Bellator 158, which would take place on 16 July 2016 at London’s O2 Arena.[22] Slice died unexpectedly on 6 June 2016.

Rizin Fighting Federation[edit]

In his debut for the Rizin Fighting Federation, Thompson faced Tsuyoshi Kohsaka on 29 December 2015. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Bellator MMA[edit]

After two years hiatus, Thompson faced Phi De Fries on Bellator 191 on December 15. 2017.[23] He lost the fight via a submission in round one.[24]

Thompson was suspended for one year by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations and fined two thousands dollars for testing positive from a in competition sample collected for steroid dirostanolone in competition at Bellator 191.[25][26]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

  • Ultimate Combat
    • Ultimate Combat Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Underdog Xtreme Championships
    • UXC British Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Film[edit]

In April 2012, Thompson was cast for the role of The Berserker in Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz.[27]

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
39 matches 20 wins 17 losses
By knockout 13 13
By submission 5 3
By decision 2 1
No contests 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 20–17 (2) Phil De Fries Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 191 15 December 2017 1 1:33 Newcastle, England
Loss 20–16 (2) Tsuyoshi Kosaka TKO (punches) Rizin Fighting Federation 1: Day 1 29 December 2015 2 1:58 Saitama, Japan
Loss 20–15 (2) Bobby Lashley TKO (punches) Bellator 145 6 November 2015 1 0:54 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win 20–14 (2) Eric Prindle TKO (punches) Bellator 121 6 June 2014 1 1:55 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
Win 19–14 (2) Colin Robinson Submission (arm-triangle choke) Underdog Xtreme Championships 2 1 March 2014 2 2:47 Belfast, Northern Ireland Won the UXC British Heavyweight Championship.
Win 18–14 (2) Bobby Lashley Decision (unanimous) Super Fight League 3: Lashley vs. Thompson 6 May 2012 3 5:00 Delhi, India
Win 17–14 (2) Bob Sapp TKO (leg injury) Super Fight League 1: Thompson vs. Sapp 11 March 2012 1 3:17 Mumbai, India
NC 16–14 (2) Mariusz Pudzianowski No Contest (overturned) KSW 17: Revenge 26 November 2011 2 5:00 Łódź, Poland Original decision loss; result overturned due to a judging error.
Win 16–14 Mariusz Pudzianowski Submission (arm-triangle choke) KSW 16: Khalidov vs. Lindland 21 May 2011 2 1:06 Gdańsk, Poland
Loss 15–14 Yusuke Kawaguchi Decision (split) DREAM 16 25 September 2010 2 5:00 Nagoya, Japan Super Heavyweight bout.
Loss 15–13 Miodrag Petkovic KO (punch) Millennium Fight Challenge 4 4 June 2010 1 1:01 Split, Croatia
Loss 15–12 Rob Broughton KO (punch) ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide 30 January 2010 2 2:28 Hove, England
Win 15–11 Tengiz Tedoradze TKO (punches) ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide 30 January 2010 2 2:55 Hove, England
Loss 14–11 Alistair Overeem Submission (standing guillotine choke) Dream 12 25 October 2009 1 0:33 Osaka, Japan
Loss 14–10 Jim York KO (punch) World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 20 March 2009 1 4:33 Tokyo, Japan
NC 14–8 (1) Steve Bossé No Contest Titans Fighting February 6, 2009 N/A N/A Montreal, Quebec, Canada Originally a special rules bout (StrikeBox), but was forced by commission to fight under MMA rules. The bout ended in a no contest when beer cans and chairs began to be thrown into the ring.[28]
Loss 14–9 (1) Kimbo Slice TKO (punches) EliteXC: Primetime 31 May 2008 3 0:38 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Loss 14–8 Brett Rogers KO (punches) EliteXC: Street Certified 16 February 2008 1 2:24 Miami, Florida, United States
Loss 14–7 Neil Grove KO (punch) Cage Rage 22 14 July 2007 1 0:10 London, England
Win 14–6 Don Frye TKO (punches) PRIDE 34 8 April 2007 1 6:23 Saitama, Japan
Loss 13–6 Butterbean KO (punches) Cage Rage 20 10 February 2007 1 0:43 London, England
Win 13–5 Hidehiko Yoshida TKO (punches) PRIDE: Shockwave 2006 31 December 2006 1 7:50 Saitama, Japan
Loss 12–5 John-Olav Einemo Submission (armbar) 2H2H: Pride & Honor 12 November 2006 1 4:18 Netherlands
Loss 12–4 Rob Broughton KO (punches) Cage Rage 17 1 July 2006 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 12–3 Kazuyuki Fujita KO (punch) PRIDE: Total Elimination Absolute 5 May 2006 1 8:25 Osaka, Japan 2006 Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round.
Win 12–2 Giant Silva TKO (soccer kicks) PRIDE: Shockwave 2005 31 December 2005 1 1:28 Saitama, Japan
Win 11–2 Alexandru Lungu TKO (knees and punches) PRIDE 30 23 October 2005 1 2:13 Saitama, Japan
Win 10–2 Andy Costello TKO (punches) Cage Rage 13 10 September 2005 1 2:33 London, England
Win 9–2 Autimio Antonia KO (punch) Urban Destruction 2 30 July 2005 1 0:54 Bristol, England
Win 8–2 Henry Armstrong Miller KO (punch) PRIDE: Bushido 8 17 July 2005 1 1:21 Nagoya, Japan
Win 7–2 Nikolajus Cilkinas TKO (punches) Urban Destruction 1 10 April 2005 1 1:04 England
Loss 6–2 Alexander Emelianenko KO (punch) PRIDE 28 31 October 2004 1 0:11 Saitama, Japan
Win 6–1 Dan Severn Decision (unanimous) UC 11: Wrath of the Beast 12 September 2004 5 5:00 Bristol, England Won the Ultimate Combat Heavyweight Championship.
Loss 5–1 Tengiz Tedoradze TKO (referee stoppage) Ultimate Combat X 20 June 2004 2 5:00 England
Win 5–0 Aaron Marsa Submission (neck injury) UC 9: Rebellion 28 March 2004 1 0:20 Bristol, England
Win 4–0 Marc Goddard KO (punches) UC 8: Retribution 30 November 2003 1 0:18 Chippenham, England
Win 3–0 Richie Cranny Submission (arm-triangle choke) UC 7: World Domination 6 September 2003 1 1:34 Chippenham, England
Win 2–0 Marc Goddard TKO (submission to punches) UC 6: Battle in the Cage 14 June 2003 2 0:47 Chippenham, England
Win 1–0 Will Elworthy Submission (forearm choke) Ground & Pound 2 25 January 2003 1 4:22 England

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ "James Thompson - 'The Colossus' - MMA Fighter Profile". ProElite.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  2. ^ Carpinello, Dave. "Exclusive: James Thompson: The "Colossus" Returns". PunchDrunkGamer.com. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  3. ^ "James Thomspon Joins Team Xtreme Couture". FightersOnlyMagazine.com. 9 February 2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  4. ^ "EliteXC "Primetime" Play-by-Play". Sherdog.com. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  5. ^ Phan, Kage. "Chaos at Strike Box in Montreal: Fans nearly Riot". MMATraining.com. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  6. ^ Shnerer, Ariel. "James Thompson Responds to Near Riot at Titans Fighting". TheFightNetwork.com. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Four new GP participants, Thomspon vs. York set for March 20 Sengoku | MMAjunkie.com". Archived from the original on 22 February 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  8. ^ "Alistair Overeem vs. James Thompson official for Sunday's DREAM.12 event". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  9. ^ "MichaelSchiavello WM on Twitter: "RT@jake_16 whens dream 16 - Sept 25. Uno vs McDonald; Omigawa vs Warren; maybe Kid vs Tokoro; Overeem; Thompson vs Minowa; Mousasi vs Mizuno"". Twitter. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  10. ^ "仰天カード実現!! 9・25『DREAM.16』日本ガイシホール大会追加対戦カード発表!!". dreamofficial.com. 22 September 2010.
  11. ^ Daniel Herbertson (22 September 2010). "Ikuhisa Minowa to Face Satoshi Ishii at DREAM.16". MMA Fighting.
  12. ^ James Thompson - Post-Fight Interview - DREAM.16. 25 September 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Pudzianowski-'Colossus' Announced for May 21 KSW Card". Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. 8 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Weekend Rundown-Leg Injury Forces Bob-Sapp to Submit to James Thompson in India". Sherdog.com. 11 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson to headline Super Fight League 3 on May 6 | MMAjunkie.com". Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  16. ^ "James Thompson out of Bellator 129 fight with Houston Alexander due to injury". MMA Fighting. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Bellator 134 Fight Card". bellator.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  18. ^ Ariel Helwani (13 January 2015). "Bobby Lashley out of James Thompson fight; Muhammed Lawal volunteers to step in". mmafighting.com.
  19. ^ Brent Brookhouse (13 April 2015). "Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson rematch set for Bellator 138 in St. Louis". mmajunkie.com.
  20. ^ Mike Bohn (10 June 2015). "James Thompson injured, Dan Charles steps in vs. Bobby Lashley at Bellator 138". mmajunkie.com.
  21. ^ "Bellator 145 Fight Card". bellator.com. 6 November 2015.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ Okamoto, Brett (18 April 2016). "Kimbo Slice-James Thompson II booked for July 16 in London". ESPN. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  23. ^ Davies, Gareth A. (29 November 2017). "James Thompson returns from two-year hiatus to take on Phil De Fries at Bellator 191". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  24. ^ Staff (15 December 2017). "Bellator 191 Results: Making Promotional Debut, Phil De Fries Earns Victory by Guillotine Over James Thompson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  25. ^ "James Thompson suspended one year for testing positive for steroid at Bellator 191". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  26. ^ "James Thompson positive for steroid drostanolone following Bellator 191". MMAjunkie. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Production Begins on Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz". Dread Central. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  28. ^ Sherdog.com. "Strikebox event james Thompson vs Steve Bosse". Sherdog. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

External links[edit]

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