Thomson, Cavalcante Both Predict Hard Fight
Joe Myers Sep 18, 2010
The main event of Strikeforce's Oct. 9 card at the HP Pavilion in
San Jose, Calif. may be the welterweight championship fight between
defending Nick Diaz and
K.J. Noons in a rematch almost three years in the making.
However, the best fight of the night might be the lightweight tilt that pits former Strikeforce 155-pound champion Josh "The Punk" Thomson against two-time K-1 Hero’s tournament champion Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante.
"There was a lot of talk about getting this fight together and I'm
excited for it," said Thomson Friday during a conference call to
promote the event. "It's been a rough camp, but when you train for
someone of (Cavalcante's) caliber, you have to train hard. It's
going to be a great, action-packed fight. There's going to be
punching, grappling and wrestling. I'm looking forward to it."
Thomson defeated Gilbert Melendez to claim the Strikeforce lightweight title in June 2008 with a five-round unanimous decision. However, Melendez won the rematch in December 2009 with a unanimous decision of his own. After taking some time off, Thomson rebounded with a third-round submission victory over Pat Healy in June.
Along with his victory over Melendez, the 31-year-old Thomson owns wins against former WEC champion Rob McCullough, Hermes Franca, Duane Ludwig and former Sengoku fighter and current "The Ultimate Fighter 12" cast member Nam Phan. His only losses -- only one of which came since March 2006 -- were to top-notch competition in Yves Edwards, Clay Guida and Melendez.
Like Thomson, Cavalcante is a former top 10-ranked lightweight. The Brazilian twice won K-1 Hero’s lightweight tournaments in Japan. He suffered consecutive losses to Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri in 2008 and 2009 before out-pointing Katsunori Kikuno in July to get back on the winning track. Cavalcante, who trains with the American Top Team in Florida, has wins over a laundry list of high-quality fighters in Bart Palaszewski, Michihiro Omigawa, Hiroyuki Takaya, Rani Yahya, Caol Uno and Vitor Ribeiro.
"I'm excited to have a chance to fight for Strikeforce," said Cavalcante, who is making his promotional debut. "Josh is a former champion and it's going to be a tough fight. It's never easy but I like the challenge. The fans are going to want to watch this fight and I would want to watch this fight."
The 27-year-old Cavalcante, who has 12 finishes (five knockouts, seven submissions) among his 15 wins, has never been submitted. His only losses came to Aoki, Kawajiri and Joachim Hansen in a 2004 fight for Shooto.
Though he has just two fights since April 2008 due to injuries, Cavalcante said he's prepared for a tough fight against Thomson in his hometown of San Jose.
"I'm feeling very good," said Cavalcante, who’s nursed a few injuries that have sidelined him in the past. "I fought in July and felt good. I thought it would be worse because of the layoff due to injury, but it gave me confidence. I'm always fighting in everybody else's backyard, especially when I was in Japan, so I'm ready for that. The fans are quiet there, but they'll be screaming and booing (in San Jose). When it gets down to it, though, a fight is a fight. When we get in there, it'll be him and me."
Thomson said he foresees a toss-up fight due to his and Cavalcante's solid all-around skills.
"Neither of us has an advantage in any area," said Thomson. "It's going to be tough until the end. I can't be arrogant about this fight. I have to come out ready. I know I'm going to take some big shots early and he's going to put pressure on me. If you think you're going to walk through somebody like him, you're wrong. I know that he's one of the best in the world."
The Strikeforce event will air live on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.
However, the best fight of the night might be the lightweight tilt that pits former Strikeforce 155-pound champion Josh "The Punk" Thomson against two-time K-1 Hero’s tournament champion Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante.
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Thomson defeated Gilbert Melendez to claim the Strikeforce lightweight title in June 2008 with a five-round unanimous decision. However, Melendez won the rematch in December 2009 with a unanimous decision of his own. After taking some time off, Thomson rebounded with a third-round submission victory over Pat Healy in June.
"I wanted to get through (the Healy fight) and win one more and
maybe get another title shot," said Thomson, who has 13 finishes
(four knockouts, nine submissions) among his 17 victories. "It was
a lackluster performance (against Healy). I had a lot of things
going through my mind. I broke two ribs in the first round and it
went downhill from there. Everybody asked me about (a Melendez
rematch) and I let that get ahead of winning each fight
individually. I have to take care of this fight first or else there
won't be a third fight with Melendez. I let that hinder me in my
last fight and I can't let that happen again."
Along with his victory over Melendez, the 31-year-old Thomson owns wins against former WEC champion Rob McCullough, Hermes Franca, Duane Ludwig and former Sengoku fighter and current "The Ultimate Fighter 12" cast member Nam Phan. His only losses -- only one of which came since March 2006 -- were to top-notch competition in Yves Edwards, Clay Guida and Melendez.
Like Thomson, Cavalcante is a former top 10-ranked lightweight. The Brazilian twice won K-1 Hero’s lightweight tournaments in Japan. He suffered consecutive losses to Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri in 2008 and 2009 before out-pointing Katsunori Kikuno in July to get back on the winning track. Cavalcante, who trains with the American Top Team in Florida, has wins over a laundry list of high-quality fighters in Bart Palaszewski, Michihiro Omigawa, Hiroyuki Takaya, Rani Yahya, Caol Uno and Vitor Ribeiro.
"I'm excited to have a chance to fight for Strikeforce," said Cavalcante, who is making his promotional debut. "Josh is a former champion and it's going to be a tough fight. It's never easy but I like the challenge. The fans are going to want to watch this fight and I would want to watch this fight."
The 27-year-old Cavalcante, who has 12 finishes (five knockouts, seven submissions) among his 15 wins, has never been submitted. His only losses came to Aoki, Kawajiri and Joachim Hansen in a 2004 fight for Shooto.
Though he has just two fights since April 2008 due to injuries, Cavalcante said he's prepared for a tough fight against Thomson in his hometown of San Jose.
"I'm feeling very good," said Cavalcante, who’s nursed a few injuries that have sidelined him in the past. "I fought in July and felt good. I thought it would be worse because of the layoff due to injury, but it gave me confidence. I'm always fighting in everybody else's backyard, especially when I was in Japan, so I'm ready for that. The fans are quiet there, but they'll be screaming and booing (in San Jose). When it gets down to it, though, a fight is a fight. When we get in there, it'll be him and me."
Thomson said he foresees a toss-up fight due to his and Cavalcante's solid all-around skills.
"Neither of us has an advantage in any area," said Thomson. "It's going to be tough until the end. I can't be arrogant about this fight. I have to come out ready. I know I'm going to take some big shots early and he's going to put pressure on me. If you think you're going to walk through somebody like him, you're wrong. I know that he's one of the best in the world."
The Strikeforce event will air live on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.
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