MMA Gospel Radio Interview: Ryan Thomas Back in Bellator Tournament Part I

Yesterday on MMA Gospel Radio we had a massive three hour show with five amazing guests, one of which was Ryan Thomas (12-4) who just recently lost via one of the worst stoppages in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. He lost to Ben Askren (4-0) via a non verbal submission due to an arm triangle. The referee thought he had gone out when he was not even close to being put to sleep. What follows is MMA Gospel’s interview with Ryan, done by Gary Friedman, that aired last night. This is the first installment of that amazing interview.

MMA Gospel Radio (MGR): Welcome Ryan, I have to say, I am happy to hear you got another shot. (in the Bellator tournament)

Ryan Thomas: Yeah, I am too, it’s one I definitely deserved I think. I think people are happy to see me back in this Bellator tournament.

MGR: First off, what got you interested in MMA and how long have you actually been training?

RT: I have been wrestling my entire life, ever since I was about five years old. All the way through college. I wrestled for two years at a junior college and then transferred to Eastern Illinois University. That is where Matt Hughes and Matt Veach wrestled at and I was there for a year. Then my program got cut while I was wrestling there and I wanted to keep competing. My assistant coach at Eastern, Clay French,he was the King of the Cage Champion and I started training with him. I also trained with Chase Beebe, the WEC bantamweight champion. Derick Noble worked out with us back then and been fighting ever since, about four years now. It has been a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure.

MGR: You experienced something this week something I would imagine very fighters have had to experience. With all the ups and downs it should make you feel unique.

RT: Yeah it does, it has been pretty cool and has really helped to get my name out there. That is part of the whole game though. If you want to be one of the best in the world you have to jump on these opportunities, roll with the punches if things don’t go your way. When they do you have to adapt and be flexible and that is what I am trying to do, make the best out of it, keep my head up and hope to get back in there and win this tournament.

MGR: What would say right now are your strengths and weaknesses as a fighter and how have you been working on each of the weaknesses?

RT: I guess I could have started younger with the jiu jitsu and the muay thai but anymore people are starting much younger. I know my opponent Jacob McClintock has been doing jiu jitsu since he was like 12 years old. One weakness I have is I am training in East Central Illinois and there aren’t very many gyms around there and the people I am competing against are at real big gyms that have all the resources at their fingertips. They have a muay thai coach, a jiu jitsu coach and a wrestling coach and surrounded by world class fighters as training partners all in one facility. I am driving all over the midwest, Chicago and Indianapolis and in little Matsue, Illinois where my main gym is but it has been worth it. It got me in the UFC and now in Bellator and I am going to make the best of it.

MGR: Do you ever envision yourself maybe moving to another location, for instance New Mexico or Vegas where there are some of the larger gyms?

RT: Yeah, I am. That is something me and my coaches have been talking about. They all agree with me that I have kind if outgrown where I came from in East Central Illinois. I have outgrown the gyms there and may need to move to a bigger gym where I have more high quality training partners than what i have got right now.

The only bad part is I just graduated from college with my elementary education degree in December. I am taking a couple extra classes so I can be a P.E. teacher also. So I can’t leave right now because I am in the middle of these classes. I need to wait until May till these classes are over. When I signed up for them I didn’t expect to be in Bellator and was having a hard time getting fights so it was the right thing to do at the then. After this semester I am probably going to have to go elsewhere.

MGR: You started your career at middleweight and since dropped to welterweight after just a few fights. Some people find it hard to understand how much difference there is in size from a middleweight compared to a welterweight. Did you feel a big difference in the strengths of opponents when you fought at 185 as opposed to 170?

RT: I don’t think the strength was that big a deal for me because when I first started. The more I fought and as I got to welterweight I stated to fight tougher opponents and a lot of them were stronger than the middleweights I fought. I think welterweight is my home because as I train and learn more about nutrition I have gotten leaner and leaner and I like to cut a little weight anyway so it works out well for me.

MGR: Your two fights in the UFC were against Ben Saunders and Matt Brown. How stressfull was it fighting in the UFC and can you give us just a few thoughts on each of those fights?

RT: The first one I took on short notice, it was 12 days and I had to cut 26 pounds. I really didn’t get to fight to my full potential in that one. I am not happy with how I performed. In that one everything happened so quickly, I did not have time to really enjoy with trying to get in shape and getting medicals. I really didn’t get to have fun with that one like I hoped to. The next one I was supposed to fight Matt Riddle but he got hurt so I got Matt Brown instead. I fought him pretty tough and definitely thing I was winning that fight and I just got caught in an armbar. Yeah, it was pretty awesome fighting in the UFC, it has always been a dream of mine.

MGR: Very few people can say they were able to do that and if you win Bellator you could possibly be back on your way there.

RT: Yeah maybe, I am happy with Bellator. If I can win this tournament and get that belt I am not going to want to go anywhere. I am happy with Bellator and how Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) has treated me.

MGR: We had Bjorn on the show and all our listeners were impressed, as were we and it is nice to hear that you would like to stick with them.

RT: Yeah, they have treated me great. I was really happy for them to bring me on board for the tournament and then after everything that happened last Thursday he made me the first alternate and here I am in Connecticut getting ready to throw down again. He is a great guy. He didn’t have to do all this. With me fighting Thursday in Chicago, I guess Connecticut is one of the stricter commissions and they really didn’t want me to fight but Bjorn pleaded with them and really put his neck on the line and kind of talked them into bringing me on board. He told them what happened to me and the promise he made me about being the first alternate and he really came through for me.

The next installment will be up tomorrow and we will get to hear about the fight with Askren and much more.