Nick Thompson Retires Following His Decision Loss to Ben Askren on Bellator 40
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2011 8:43 AM EDT
in Bellator News
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Nick Thompson, the 29-year-old, UFC veteran and former Bodog Fight champion has decided to call it quits after losing a unanimous decision to Ben Askren this past weekend. It was his fourth loss in a row, and "the Goat" has decided to leave MMA and start focusing more on his family and his career in law. Nick talked about this after the fight:
"I’m a fan of Ben Askren and it was an honor for this to be my last fight."
He also made an announcement on the UG forum:
I have fought many great fighters, even beating a few along the way. In all those fights, I have never felt as frustrated as I felt tonight. Ben Askren is truly a great wrestler/grappler and I look forward to seeing him develop in the sport. I have been a fan of Ben’s since I knew him in high school and am appreciative that Bellator provided me an opportunity for my last fight to be against a fighter for whom I have such tremendous respect.
I love this sport and all that it has given to me and it is with a mix of joy and sadness that I realize that I am no longer willing to pay the price necessary to compete at the level I expect from myself – the level of guys like Ben, Weedman and Heiron. I have reached a point where it is more important to me to spend time at home with my daughter and wife, who have been great about me competing, and focus on developing my law career at O’Flaherty Heim Egan & Birnbaum LTD, which has also been great about me competing. I am grateful for the many wonderful people who supported me and those I met in mixed martial arts, fans and fighters, and am hopeful that I can give something back to the sport I love by coaching and/or representing the next crop of mixed martial arts superstars.
Thank you!
Thompson is a veteran of over 50 fights, and has fought all over the world in promotions such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Sengoku, Elite XC, Bodog, MFC, and Bellator. On his eight year career, he has faced some of the very best in the sport such as Paul Daley, Eddie Alvarez, Jake Shields, Josh Neer, Ben Askren, Dan Hornbuckle, Tim Kennedy, Brian Ebersole, and Yushin Okami.
HT: MidWestBred
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Best of luck to him
Guy did a lot of cool stuff that not many people get to do.
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This is the kind of guy
we need getting into the regulation and administrative side of MMA. He’d make a great judge and/or a valuable advocate for the sport.
Hopefully
I’ll get to videotape one of his depositions one day. Best of luck Goat.
Meet me on Monsta Island. Where the girls look good and the MC's be Wildin'.
Also, follow me on Twitter @DeoWade
Good to see someone get out of the game with all their faculties still intact. Thanks Goat.
"Every time I talk on the phone with someone who doesn’t know me, they call me "ma’am"." - Scott C. Broussard
by Earl Montclair on Apr 11, 2011 10:15 AM EDT reply actions
I hope he does well
I also love that he has a backout plan. He got to live his dream and got a championship belt out of it. When his daughter grows up that’s gonna scare the **** out of anyone she brings home.
Good luck Mr. Thompson.
Regardless of rankings, and titles, and fanfare, he was a true fighter who came to scrap.
He fought alot of names too: Ben Askren Dan Hornbuckle Tim Kennedy Paul Daley Jake Shields Eddie Alvarez Karo Parisyan Josh Neer Ed Herman Yushin Okami just to name a few.
Prolly the highlight win would be Alvarez.
Congrats on retirement Nick, you’ve earned it.
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
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