Din Thomas

Din Thomas
Born September 28, 1976 (1976-09-28) (age 35)
Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Other names Dinbo Slice
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 145 pounds (66 kg)
Division Featherweight (2009–present)
Lightweight
Welterweight
Style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing
Fighting out of Port St. Lucie, Florida
Team American Top Team
Rank black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Liborio
Years active 1998–present MMA
Mixed martial arts record
Total 33
Wins 25
By knockout 7
By submission 14
By decision 4
Losses 8
By knockout 2
By submission 2
By decision 4
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: February 15, 2010

Din Yero Thomas (born September 28, 1976) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and part time break dancer, who was featured on The Ultimate Fighter 4. He currently runs two successful Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA academies in Port St. Lucie, Florida and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Liborio.[1] Thomas fights out of Florida and trains with American Top Team.[2]

Thomas has acted in local independent films, portraying The Fight Kid in Chris Fuller's Loren Cass and Reverend Pierce in Natalie, Queen of Scots.[3]

Contents

Mixed martial arts career

Before entering the UFC, Din Thomas held a 12–1 MMA record including wins over future UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver and Dokonjonosuke Mishima, with his only loss coming to future UFC lightweight title challenger Caol Uno. Thomas made his UFC debut at UFC 32, in a fight against future UFC lightweight & welterweight champion B.J. Penn, where he lost by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1. Thomas returned at UFC 33, defeating Fabiano Iha by unanimous decision.

At UFC 39, Thomas faced Japanese superstar Caol Uno in a rematch. The fight was part of a tournament to determine the new UFC Lightweight Champion. After three rounds, Thomas lost by unanimous decision. His next fight was a split decision victory over future UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra at UFC 41. This fight would prove somewhat controversial, due to one of the judges mistakenly placing the score he assigned to Thomas in the column reserved for Serra. This caused Serra to be declared the winner by decision, but the mistake was discovered and Thomas and his team were notified of the change, giving Thomas the split decision victory. This would be Thomas's last UFC fight for 3 years.

Thomas was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4 where he defeated Mikey Burnett in the first round, before losing to training partner Chris Lytle by decision in the semi-finals. Thomas returned at the finale on November 11, 2006, to face Rich Clementi, winning via rear naked choke in the second round.

Thomas was then defeated via submission (rear naked choke) by future UFC lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian after injuring his knee in a takedown attempt while headlining the main event at UFC Fight Night 11. Doctors said in his takedown attempt that Thomas tore his meniscus and stretched his PCL.[4][5] His most recent UFC fight was a unanimous decision loss to Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 13. He was released from his UFC contract after this fight.[6]

After his loss to Neer, Din decided to drop a weight class to Featherweight (145 lbs). He debuted at featherweight against Dustin Pieken securing a triangle choke in the first round. He has followed that up with TKO wins over Gabe Lemley and Dustin Pague.

Thomas has signed with Shine Fights and was expected to make his debut against Ricardo Mayorga on May 15 in Fayetteville, North Carolina but it was canceled after Don King was granted an injunction preventing Mayorga from fighting.[7]

Thomas was scheduled to return after a nearly two-year-long layoff Oct. 7, 2011, at Fight Time 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a promotion headed up by his American Top Team boxing trainer, Howard Davis Jr. But Thomas was in a car accident prior to the event and had to be hospitalized for his injuries. His fight against George Sheppard was scheduled to be the main event of Fight Time 7: The Return of Din Thomas.[8]

Personal life

Thomas is married and has a son named Ethon.[9]

He also appeared in the 2007 Gotham Award-nominated independent feature film Loren Cass which had its United States premiere at Dennis Hopper's CineVegas Film Festival and its international premiere in the prestigious Filmmakers of the Present competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland; a future wide release is anticipated.

Thomas was arrested on October 30, 2007, on a charge of "felony prohibited competitions" in Port St. Lucie, Florida at his training gym.[10] As of November 30, 2007, the Assistant State Attorney's office decided not to file formal charges against Thomas and filed paperwork dismissing the charge on which he was arrested. The Assistant D.A. stated if the fighter or participants were students of Thomas' school, and the purpose of the school is to teach martial arts, then they meet the exception to the law.[11]

Mixed martial arts record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 25-8 Dustin Pague TKO (doctor stoppage) World Extreme Fighting: Brasco vs. Whitesel 02010-01-08 January 8, 2010 2 4:14 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 24-8 Gabe Lemley TKO (knee) SRP: March Badness 02009-03-21 March 21, 2009 1 4:13 Pensacola, Florida, United States
Win 23-8 Dustin Pieken Submission (triangle choke) HHP 1: The Patriot Act 02009-02-07 February 7, 2009 1 2:58 Columbia, Missouri, United States 145 lb Debut
Loss 22-8 Josh Neer Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night 13 02008-04-02 April 2, 2008 3 5:00 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Loss 22-7 Kenny Florian Submission (rear naked choke) UFC Fight Night 11 02007-09-19 September 19, 2007 1 4:30 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 22-6 Jeremy Stephens Submission (armbar) UFC 71 02007-05-26 May 26, 2007 2 2:44 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won Submission of the Night Honors
Win 21-6 Clay Guida Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night 8 02007-01-25 January 25, 2007 3 5:00 Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win 20-6 Rich Clementi Submission (rear naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale 02006-11-11 November 11, 2006 2 3:11 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 19-6 Luciano Azevedo Decision (unanimous) WCFC – No Guts No Glory 02006-03-18 March 18, 2006 3 5:00 Manchester, England
Win 19-5 Dwayne Shelton Submission (armbar) BP – Pride and Glory 02005-09-17 September 17, 2005 1 Georgia, United States
Loss 18-5 Tyrone Glover Decision (majority) DEEP – 20th Impact 02005-09-03 September 3, 2005 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 18-4 John Strawn Submission (armbar) AFC 11 – Absolute Fighting Championships 11 02005-02-12 February 12, 2005 1 1:15 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Loss 17-4 Amar Suloev TKO (punches and soccer kicks) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 02003-12-31 December 31, 2003 1 4:22 Kobe, Japan
Win 17-3 Steve Berger Decision (unanimous) AFC 4 – Absolute Fighting Championships 4 02003-07-19 July 19, 2003 3 5:00 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Win 16-3 Matt Serra Decision (split) UFC 41 – Onslaught 02003-02-28 February 28, 2003 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 15-3 Caol Uno Decision (unanimous) UFC 39 – The Warriors Return 02002-09-27 September 27, 2002 3 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States The first bout of a two-round tournament for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship
Win 15-2 Rob Baer TKO RSF 6 – Mayhem in Myers 02001-12-29 December 29, 2001 N/A Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Win 14-2 Jason Bender KO RSF 5 – New Blood Conflict 02001-10-27 October 27, 2001 1 1:03 Augusta, Georgia, United States
Win 13-2 Fabiano Iha Decision (unanimous) UFC 33 – Victory in Vegas 02001-09-28 September 28, 2001 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 12-2 B.J. Penn KO (knee and punches) UFC 32 – Showdown in the Meadowlands 02001-06-29 June 29, 2001 1 2:42 East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Win 12-1 Scott Johnson Submission (armbar) RSF 1 – Redemption in the Valley 02001-04-21 April 21, 2001 1 3:11 Wheeling, West Virginia, United States
Win 11-1 Stephen Palling Submission (triangle choke) SB 20 – SuperBrawl 20 02001-02-23 February 23, 2001 1 3:52 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win 10-1 Jens Pulver Submission (heel hook) WEF – New Blood Conflict 02000-08-26 August 26, 2000 2 0:33
Win 9-1 Don Banville TKO (corner stoppage) WEF 9 – World Class 02000-05-13 May 13, 2000 2 4:00 Evansville, Indiana, United States
Win 8-1 Dokonjonosuke Mishima TKO (cut) Shooto – R.E.A.D. 2 02000-03-17 March 17, 2000 2 3:37 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7-1 Tim Douglas Submission (armbar) RCF 4 – Reality Combat Fighting 4 02000-02-19 February 19, 2000 1 0:45 Houma, Louisiana, United States
Win 6-1 Ken Allen Technical Submission (guillotine choke) WEF 7 – Stomp in the Swamp 01999-10-09 October 9, 1999 1 3:16 Kenner, Louisiana, United States
Loss 5-1 Caol Uno Submission (rear naked choke) Shooto – Renaxis 4 01999-09-05 September 5, 1999 3 3:16 Tokyo, Japan
Win 5-0 Scott Bills Submission (choke) WEF 5 – World Extreme Fighting 5 01999-02-21 February 21, 1999 1 3:46
Win 4-0 Scott Bills TKO WEF 4 – World Extreme Fighting 4 01998-12-19 December 19, 1998 1 5:00
Win 3-0 Ed Lutz Submission (rear naked choke) WEF 4 – World Extreme Fighting 4 01998-12-19 December 19, 1998 1 3:20
Win 2-0 Rodney Brown Submission (keylock) YVT – Ybor Vale Tudo 01998-12-15 December 15, 1998 1 4:00 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 1-0 Tomas Velazquez Submission (armbar) WVF – Jacksonville Vale Tudo 1 01998-10-28 October 28, 1998 1 1:02 Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Notes and references

External links