Josh Thomson: ‘Bellator Offered More Money Than The UFC’

Former Strikeforce and UFC lightweight Josh Thomson is now with Bellator MMA and set to make his debut in his new promotion.

There was a little controversy when he left the UFC, with the promotion saying they released him, while he insists he made the choice not to resign. Thomson recently spoke with Sherdog and attempted to clear some of that up and gave one of the simple reasons for why he picked Bellator.

Here’s what he said:

“I didn’t take it personal at all. I looked at the facts, and the facts are I was never released. I was never given a release letter. I was never told I was released. That was it. I weighed out the options. If you think about it, other guys have fought like three, four, five losses and they haven’t cut them. To think that I just co-main evented their last show and to think that they would cut me seems farfetched given they have so many shows.

“They need all the talent they can get, especially top talent like myself. At the end of the day it’s just business. I have no hard feelings whatsoever, despite whatever was said. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“There’s significant money on the table that Bellator offered me. It was more than the contract that the UFC offered me.”