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By Loretta Hunt 
In this installment of The Faces of UFC 39, we speak with lightweight dynamo Din Thomas. Coming in at 5'9" and 155 pounds, this warrior makes his return after an injury-induced nine-month hiatus. Being the one competitor to have handed former UFC champion Jens Pulver a loss, Thomas was a natural choice for the 4-man lightweight tournament that will decide just who get to fill "Little Evil's" shoes. Thomas takes on Japanese legend Caol Uno, a fighter he lost to three years ago in the early stages of his career. Thomas is hoping that this time however, it will all go differently. Calm, relaxed, and always entertaining, Din Thomas is ready to make his presence known and has made a special pledge to the fans once his hand is raised on Friday night. Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Din Thomas.FCF: Let's get the public back up to speed in the ways of Din Thomas. Will you refresh our memories as to the injury you incurred a few months ago and your road to recovery and fighting again? DT: Basically, I'll say that the injury was just an accumulation of hard training through the years. I always remembered having pretty bad knees, but it got to the point where it was unbearable. When I was going to fight Matt [Serra at UFC 36], I couldn't even train some days. I couldn't even walk some days. I had a talk with my doctor, John Keating from Atlanta, and he said I would have to cancel my fight and get this taken care of. Basically, he went in and cleaned out my knee. It was a torn meniscus and some other damage in there that he took care of and now I'm good to go. FCF: How many months were you not able to do any type of training whatsoever? DT: About two months. I was on crutches for two months. When my doctor first told me I had to be off for two months, as soon as those two months started, I was counting the days. I actually threw the crutches off a day or two early. I was at the gym and I just started training right there. I couldn't take it no more. FCF: So how many months have you been officially training for your upcoming bout with Caol Uno? DT: I train year round really, so it's not like I have to do anything really special. I kinda turn it up a bit about two months out. That's when I really start focusing. FCF: And you've been able to complete this full two-month period? Did your recovery time dip into this time at all? DT: No, not at all. My knee is fine. It's like nothing happened. I feel really good. I can't complain at all. I'm really excited to fight. I just can't wait till the 27th. I'm dying over here! FCF: What is an ultimate fighter to do when he's on crutches for two months? DT: You get pampered a lot and you do a lot of talking to whoever will listen to you. I tried to build my fan base up while I couldn't fight. I did a lot of promotional work for myself. When you're training you don't have a lot of time to market yourself, so when I got hurt, I took the time to do that. I did a lot of radio. I made up little trading cards, so wherever I went, I'd pass out my cards and try and meet different people. FCF: Was this all in Florida? DT: Right. If I can't be famous everywhere, at least in my own hometown I'd like to be recognized. FCF: I've heard that the UFC is considering putting on a show there now that MMA is legal in Florida. DT: Hey, I'm with that. I'll do anything to support the sport. For the longest time, Florida had a bit of a [MMA] scene down here. It got a little side tracked after a while because of the law, but up until about a year ago, it was really big down here. But since it's been back on track, nothing's really jumped off, so hopefully the UFC or someone with the capital to put a show on down here will do it. FCF: I heard that during your hiatus you dabbled a bit in the rap industry. DT: Rapping is something that I've done since I was little, in high school and all. Since I couldn't fight and I wasn't training, I went back up to my old "peeps" and we did a little something (Din chuckles). 
FCF: A little something? Like a record?DT: I made a little song. FCF: Can this song be purchased by MMA fans somewhere? DT: I'm still trying to get that on my website [www.dinthomas.com]. I'm working on that. The song's called "Everybody's Doing It." FCF: Like everybody's doing MMA? DT: No. When I rap, I try not to do anything about MMA. You know how Roy Jones is a boxer and his song is totally about boxing? I try to make myself different and I don't want to do anything with MMA when I'm rapping. FCF: Unfortunately, I haven't heard Roy Jones' song... or maybe fortunately. DT: [Laughs] Yeah, maybe fortunately. All he basically talks about is himself knocking people out, which is cool. That's his gimmick, but me -- I try to broaden the spectrum a bit. FCF: You were looking for new management not too long ago. How did that work out? DT: Yeah. I'm now with Alex Davis. He's from Fort Lauderdale and manages a bunch of guys from American Top Team. FCF: American Top Team? Have you hooked up with them? DT: We've talked a little bit and we keep in touch. We're friends. I haven't really trained with them. I've got a good group of guys here at my gym. I co-own the gym with Mike Blak. He fights as well and has done some smaller shows here in Florida. My gym is going really well. We have a really strong kids program. That's my pride and joy. FCF: Are you teaching kids? DT: Actually, in the last few days, I've thrown on my gi and taught the kids some stuff. It's a whole experience in itself teaching kids, just watching them learn and watching them develop into something. FCF: I almost hate to ask, but I was wondering if your past problems with Jamie Levine have been resolved? Is he out of your life? DT: Jamie who? He has nothing to do with my school. He's definitely has nothing to do with it and he's not even really welcome here anymore. He's out of the picture. FCF: Let's talk about your first fight with Caol Uno at Shooto 4. That was almost three years ago to the day and went into the third round before Uno got the submission. What are your thoughts on that fight? DT: I was young and wasn't really prepared for him. At the time, he was a lot better than me. I'd say he was about as good as he is now. He was definitely one of the top guys back then and I was just coming up and trying to learn about fighting back then. I was a little unprepared. I'm hoping it's different now. 
FCF: And what are your thoughts on Uno today?DT: Realistically, not to take anything away from Uno, but he's kinda on the decline. There's a lot of other guys out there who are a little bit tougher. Not to say that Uno's not dangerous. He can beat any fighter on any given day. But generally, he hasn't really done anything to impress us recently. He hasn't changed much. He's kinda the same fighter he was back then, while everyone else has gotten a little bit better. FCF: Do you feel you have a solid understanding of Uno going into this second meeting, having clashed with him once already? DT: No, not really. I'll say I've learned more about Uno watching him fight other people then I did having fought him before. The fight before was more of a training experience that I wasn't really ready for. Now -- Uno's dangerous, but he's not scary. FCF: Is there anything you are doing differently to train specifically for Uno or has your training stayed the same? DT: It's never the same, not because of the opponent but because I'm always looking to get better and exceed my limits. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. That's something my nutritionist always tells me, so I'm never doing the same thing. I'm always trying something new to get better. FCF: Speaking of better, the votes are in. I've spoken to BJ Penn and Matt Serra, and they both think you will win against Uno. DT: Really? Well, I don't know. I think I'm going to win too. I think a lot of people who know what's going on in this sport think I'm going to win. I think I'm going to be a little bit bigger than him and a little bit stronger. Everybody knows his game now, and if you stay on top of him and don't let him dictate the pace, then you won't have a big problem with him. FCF: Being that you might be facing the other lightweight match-up winner, what are your predictions for the Penn-Serra fight? DT: It could go any way. BJ may have more tools, but it doesn't mean he's going to be able to utilize them all. I can' t really see either of them submitting the other. I can see a domination or stalling on the ground for a judge's decision. I don' t think either is going to knock the other out as well. It sounds so easy to say since BJ is better on the feet, he'll knock Matt out -- but I just can't see that happening because Matt knows that he might not be able to touch BJ on his feet, so he probably won't trade with him. FCF: Who would you prefer to win, as the victor might be your next opponent following Uno? You were scheduled to fight Matt at one point, but BJ knocked you out at UFC 32.... DT: I've got a little bone to pick with both of them, so it doesn't really matter. Because it is for the title, I probably would rather fight BJ, but for personal satisfaction, I'd probably want to fight Matt. Matt did beat my training partner Paul Rodriguez at Abu Dhabi and when you mess with my "peeps," you have to pay the price. FCF: This whole four-man lightweight tournament came about as a result of Jens Pulver leaving the UFC. You're the only lightweight that has beaten Jens. What is your reaction when he comments that whoever wins this title will not be the true champion? DT: He might be right. You gotta beat the champ to be the champ. He might be right, but it doesn't really matter. I'll tell you one thing though. I think what Jens did was honorable and I was actually happy he did it. Even though I wanted to fight him again, I was happy that he stood up for himself and what he believed in. Not a lot of guys would have given up the title just for the principle of financial issues. My hat tips to Jens for doing that. FCF: Having been away from competition for almost nine months now, is there any worry about "ring rust?" DT: No, not really. I've had enough fights to be able to deal with the ring rust. Nine months has been a long time, but I don't think it will be a problem. I've had 18 fights, so I think I'm experienced enough where I'll be able to deal with this layoff. FCF: Would you like to leave the fans with a little rap? Maybe something off the cuff? DT: [Laughs] No, I don't have nothing off the top of the dome. Wait in line and by a ticket. Put it this way though, I'll make a promise to the fans. I beat Uno, I'm grabbing the mic and I'm gonna kick a little freestyle. FCF: I'm going to hold you to that! DT: You can definitely hold me to that. |
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