MMAbuzz.com had the opportunity to interview The Ultimate Fighter 5®'s Noah Thomas. Noah grew up in Colorado Springs and now lives in Fort Collins, where he also goes to college.
 

How has your life changed since The Ultimate Fighter®?
To tell you the truth, The Ultimate Fighter really hasn't changed much outside of the fight world. Still do the same things, go to school, train, you know what I mean. It's just a different level of competition you know.  They definitely helped me realize what I need to do, what I need to go over. Other than that day to day life really hasn't changed that much.

Do people recognize you more out in public now?
In various circles; fight promotions places like that. I'll be walking through a grocery store and not get a second glance.

We've seen seven episodes of The Ultimate Fighter, and it seems Team Penn (which you were on) seemed pretty disorganized.
I totally disagree.

Is that just the way they edited it?
No, BJ let us pretty much do whatever we wanted.  He help us, instruct us, and coaches us, but at the same time he understood that we were our own fighters and he's not gonna change us in a matter of two weeks and make us new fighters, that takes years.  It was just different coaching styles. Unorganized? I don't think so. People were unprepared? Maybe..well...Yes.

Like the fighters?
Some of the fighters were unprepared. Myself, I was unprepared for that level of competition.   I am better prepared now that I have been in that level of competition. It's kind of; some people are just thrown in there. Gabe Reudiger, he wasn't prepared, obviously. Some people weren't prepared mentally.

So this week's episode you were featured with the street fight. What was your take on the street fight after being involved with it, and then seeing it on TV?
I really wish I could have walked away from that, at the time being I didn't, you know, from my point of view I didn't see a way out of it. Now that I look back at I see I could walk away from it. It's something that happened. I've learn from it I'm not a big advocate of street fighting, I don't like it. I felt backed into a corner, I felt like a dog that had to either gets squashed or bite. I'm not saying it was right. But that's what I did and I have to live with it.  I totally don't advocate my actions, it was a wrong decision to make at the time. I wish it had never happened, but it did. And I'm just going forward from there.

It seems like after the fight that you and Marlon were cool you shook hands it seemed like there were no hard feelings.
It's kind of like after a kid does something wrong before he is punished. He kind of knows it's coming, you know he messed up, the dog pissed in the middle of the living room, he knows he messed up. He kind of doesn't want to do anymore to make it worse. I don't hate the guy he just chose to put his hands on me at the wrong time and place. Me being a person that can take a lot of stuff. I think I showed that with Tony DeSouza. He smashed on me for a while, he didn't really hurt me, but just smashed me for a little bit grappling. I guess everyone has that certain trigger. Marlon was very good at hitting my trigger. I regret it completely. I'm sad it had to go down like that.

Do you think you have to do more with the booze that Marlon drank or were you guys just bored?
I think a lot has to do with his , uhh, he didn't drink as much as he said. He was intoxicated. I'm sure he was, but I think it wasn't only to the level of his intoxication but also his pursuing an antagonizing. Everything combined, you know what I mean? It takes a lot of ingredients to make a cake and he put all the right ingredients in there. And that's what happened.

Do you think the UFC will get you differently now that is as happened? Do you think they will punish you for this?
They've already punished us. Of course they will look at us differently. It's not what were about or what were supposed to be about. They don't advocate it, I don't advocate it, and it's something that happened. And hey you know most people in life are lucky enough to not have to go through a street fight. Marlon brags on having 300 and then goes on record as saying he doesn't advocate them. I really don't understand it. But that's what he says you know. But yeah they will look at us differently now. We realized that we didn't make the right decision but hopefully they won't further punish us. That was a pretty big punishment; getting kicked off the show is a huge deal. I can tell you right now, I can name every single person who has been kicked off the show. 

 

So how has the training been going since you been back? Who are your training with? Have you changed your game since you've been back?
I train with Adam Martinez in Loveland at Infinite Mixed Martial Arts ,  as usual, and all the guys from there.  Yes things have changed. I started working more on basic stuff that Rodrigo Gracie had taught me, BJ told me, and what Reagan told me. Things people have told me to work on. Just trying to fill a couple extra holes. So yeah I am definitely working on some new stuff.

When will we see you fight again?
I don't know. Hopefully June 23^rd. We'll have to see.

Anyone out there you'd  like to thank who's helped you so far?
Yeah let me think. Adam Mariniez and all the guys from Loveland Martial Arts . Fightshop.tv , Tapout , MMAWeekly , Galaxy Design , Precision Plumbing and I can't remember anymore.

So how can fans get in touch with you?
Myspace (http://myspace.com/noahthered ). Best thing to do man. If you want to talk to me just send me a message on there. I check it every couple days and I usually try to get back to everybody. I apologize if I don't get back to you very quickly. You have to realize that there are a lot of people that shoot me an e-mail and I only have so much time in a day. I really try to respond to everyone I can. That's an important part of the sport the fans. Because they're what make the sport. Not me, not Dana not the UFC. Not any other promotions; the fans are the ones that run it. Of course we want to compete, we enjoyed it that's what we do but they are the reason we get to compete.

One last question what did you think of the Rampage-Liddell fight?
I was ecstatic. That's what I was hoping would happen. I did not think, I'll be honest with you, I did not think Quinton could pull it off, I didn't. As I was sitting there freaking Saturday, because I went to the fights, of course, and and I was sittin there, and he hit him with that beautiful right hook, I was ecstatic. Chuck is a great fighter  but, ummm, he just got caught up in his own game.

You were at a fight?
Yep. I like Chuck but he knocked my boy Randy out. Any guy who puts it on him like that, you kind of have to give it to him. Besides I like Quinton. I don't think he's been the same fighter since he was kneed in the face by Wanderlei. But if you look at who he's lost to:  Wanderlei, Shogun. People he lost to are like the top guys in the world. I think people forget that sometimes.

We appreciate your time and will send people your way, and looking forward to seeing you fight in the future.
I hope so too.

Comments (7)

ChrisZacher said:

... I think, he could of walked away form the whole situation.

May 29, 2007

Oakley said:

... I think he could have and should have.... He knew he was drunk.. I would have been smart ass about it but left

May 29, 2007

ChrisZacher said:

... yup yup

May 29, 2007

MMAbuzz said:

... It's a lose-lose situation. If he would have walked away a lot of people would have said 'man, what a wuss'. He stood his ground and people say 'I would have walked away.' Personally I probably would have just fought him, not in a hatred way, but in a 'let's have some fun' way. We used to always have drunk wrestling in college, it was just a fun thing to do at night. No hard feelings, just busted up bodies. No big deal. I remember one time I sent my roommate through the drywall, you talk about a good time. Also, I still have a scar on my arm from landing on the oven, (which was on). :- Either way it made for the best episode yet.

May 29, 2007

ChrisZacher said:

... Eh, i think being called a Wuss, and not making teh sport bad is better then not being called a Wuss and doing what happened. Either way though, I really dont hold it against teh two involved, Zuffa and the UFC should of edited it out of the show, but we all know ratings make teh world go round. kind of double standard on Dana's part if you ask me.

May 29, 2007

ChrisZacher said:

... oh i remember what else I was going to say, this coudl very well go with the critics of MMa saying its a bunch of peopel who are not classy,a nd who just want to cause damage to each other. I rather have teh ratings suck, and teh show be boring, then to use such behavior to sell it.

May 29, 2007

MMAbuzz said:

... MARLON SIMS AND NOAH THOMAS REMATCH…IN THE OCTAGON! Disgraced Duo Fight For Real In A Sanctioned Bout On The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale Undercard Fight To Open Spike TV Telecast On Saturday, June 23 NEW YORK, NY, May 29, 2007 – It’s the only fight in the history of The Ultimate Fighter that should never have happened. When The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestants Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas foolishly squared off in the backyard of The Ultimate Fighter house in episode #8 airing last Thursday, they broke one of the UFC’s cardinal sins and were quickly kicked off the series by UFC President Dana White. Now, granted a second chance to prove they indeed want to be professional UFC fighters, they will settle their differences and square off in the Octagon on the undercard of the live Ultimate Fighter finale fight card on Saturday, June 23 at 9:00pm on Spike TV. The fight will open the Spike TV telecast at 9:00pm on an action-packed card which will include the two Ultimate Fighter 5 finalists and the highly anticipated dual between The Ultimate Fighter 5 coaches, BJ Penn and Jens Pulver. More information on the entire finale fight card to be announced shortly. FIGHTER BIOS ENCLOSED: “Mr. Indestructible” Marlon Sims Age: 33 MMA Record: 3– 1 Hometown: Sonoma, CA Trains in: Miami, FL – Freestyle Fighting Academy Since the age of four, Marlon Sims has wanted to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Growing up, Marlon was constantly training. He took up Kempo and Sambo, achieving black belts in both. Before graduating from Sonoma Valley High in 1992, he was a two-time state champion in Greco Roman wrestling, and was regularly scouted by Stanford’s tennis coaches during the spring athletic season. He opted to train in mixed martial arts, instead, dabbling in jiu jitsu briefly before injuries caused him to focus on muy thai. Living in the Bay Area, Marlon trained during the day and worked as a waiter captain at the famous Le Colonial night. He worked out with Frank Shamrock in the Napa chapter of The Lion’s Den, but relocated to Miami where he lives with his girlfriend, a future anesthesiologist, and trains with the Freestyle Fighting Academy. When not training, Marlon is a huge fan of martial arts films starring Tony Jai, Bruce Lee, and Jet Li. Musically, Marlon’s tastes range from classical music to Johnny Cash to Lyrics Born to Pantera. Despite moving to Miami, Marlon still follows the 49ers and Oakland A’s closely, and says Roger Federer and Mirko Cro Cop are heroes of his because of the dominance they display in their fields. Marlon earned his nickname for his renowned fighting prowess on the streets of San Francisco, breaking up many brawls with nary a scratch to show for it. Sims says the title is apt, but for different reasons – he once was hit by a car and thrown through its windshield, and walked out of the hospital four hours later with only a tooth missing. While on The Ultimate Fighter 5, “Mr. Indestructible” hopes to live up to his namesake while working on his jiu jitsu and striking ability with the coaches and other competitors. Noah “The Red” Thomas Age: 25 MMA Record: 10 – 4 Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO Trains in: Loveland, CO – Infinity Martial Arts A 1999 graduate of Wasson High School where he was a standout wrestler, Noah attended Colorado State University at Ft. Collins, majoring in history. He left to join the United States Marines Corp, earning the rank of Sergeant after serving for six years in their sniper division and doing tours in Japan and Korea. When he returned to the U.S., Thomas was looking for a hobby and entered a No Holds Barred tournament. Winning eight fights in one night, Noah decided to plug himself into the mixed martial arts scene. About a year ago he began training with Ryan Schulz, working on his wrestling and striking, and six months ago he linked up with a Gracie gym in Colorado, training under Adam Martinez. He has since received a blue belt in Brazliain jiu-jitsu from Royce Gracie, and began dating Michelle Mills, one of the top female fighters in the world. Nicknamed after a dog he knew that would often “see red,” Thomas says it is an appropriate moniker – he is very laid back until the Octagon door closes behind him. He is eager to hone his Brazilian jiu jitsu skills in his quest to become The Ultimate Fighter. Noah hopes to keep the house loose during the six weeks with his spot on impressions, including imitations of Matt Serra and Ross Pointon. He’ll also be quoting movies a fair amount, listing Rounders, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers among his favorites. When his MMA career is over, Noah would like to become a firefighter.

May 29, 2007