Josh Thomson says the ship has sailed on a Nate Diaz fight after Diaz chose Mike Perry

Thomson said he had offered to box Diaz with 10 or 12-ounce gloves instead of an MMA fight, and that he is not training at the level he would need to fight.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Thu 22 Oct, 04:24 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Josh Thomson throws a head kick at Nate Diaz in the cage — Photo: MMA Fighting

Josh Thomson has said a fight with Nate Diaz will not happen. Asked by MMA Fighting about the videos he had been making about getting back in there with Diaz, Thomson said: "No, that ship has sailed, my man. That ship has sailed."

Thomson said a bout under the MVP banner had been an option, and that he had offered to box Diaz rather than fight him in MMA.

"It really came down to that we were talking about the MVP was an option. I know there was some boxing involved," Thomson said. "I was like, hey, I'll box you. I don't want to trade for MMA. I'd rather just do boxing with 10-ounce gloves or 12-ounce gloves. And then he chose Mike Perry over me."

Post by @MMAFighting on X

Thomson said he held nothing against Diaz for the decision: "I had no disrespect to him. I actually appreciate the fact that, hey, Mike Perry is a tougher fight than me coming off of a five-year layoff."

He added that he still trains, but not at the level a fight would need: "I run, lift, and do a little bit of jiu-jitsu in the morning with a bunch of old black belts, right? I'm still training, but it's not the level I would need to fight."

In this story

Nate Diaz