By not quitting after getting beaten up. I think that showed a lot of balls.
I see people on here dissing him, saying he sucks, saying everyone on mma.tv could beat him up, etc.
But people who say those things have never faced any kind of adversity...or if they have, they quit when they did.
I also thought it was cool seeing the other fighters encouraging him not to quit.
Thacker will probably be the first one cut...but he can always say, "I didn't quit...they made me leave" and feel good about himself. The experience of training with world-class fighters can only make him a better fighter.
And even if he has no future in fighting....building toughness and character will help him in anything he chooses to do in life
Can the guy really not have any skills? I have a hard time believing he got in without having some sort of merit. That being said, I didn't see it last night. I think we're missing something on this guy but time will tell.
I have a feeling he just wasn't in condition. Probably has decent skills but was so worn out by the skills portion of the training that he couldn't really show his stuff.
Hell, the guy couldn't even walk after the work out. That's got to impact your game at least a little.
I think having someone like Thacker on the show helps emphasize the difficulty of what the guys are going through - if there weren't a Thacker to compare it to, then it might not be as obvious what the differences are between the different calibers of fighters.
And yes, Zen, Thacker did ultimately decide to stay of his own will, but I don't think that without that pep talk he would have seen his situation as clearly...
It's kind of the William Hung factor with Thacker I think - endearing guy that just doesn't have it together, but you kinda like him anyway for sticking it out in the face of adversity.
I don't feel sorry for him. I don't care if he has bad skills, or isn't as good as the rest, big deal.
What irritated me is that if it wasn't for Southworth, Thacker would have been gone... don't make it sound like the guy has tons of heart, he wanted out, bad.
Some people are dealt opportunities and have no appreciation.
"It's kind of the William Hung factor with Thacker I think"
so hes gonna be the laughingstock idiot buffoon of the world?
i respect thacker but the only reason he isnt out of there is i think bobby southworth physically made him go with them... when you quit mentally, you quit.
I just want to say that Jason is an awesome guy and I had a great time with him on the show. He wanted to quit but stuck it out and stayed on and I respect him for that. You guys don't really know what those first three days were like, they didn't really show how beat we really were, and when you consider Jason, not being in the best shape had to endure those days as well, I am sure a lot of people would have quit.
He is a great guy, and I enjoyed his company on the show....
The guy had to have something or they wouldn't have had him on. If any of you have ever trained hard when you are out of shape then you know how he feels. But on the other hand, there's no way in hell I would ever quit or even think about quitting because the training is to hard. You just keep your head up and get through it. But hey he's on the show and we are sitting here talking about it.
First of all, I have to say I have much respect for anyone who can get up and fight in front of people. With that said, I do have respect for Thacker, but I just think that there was someone who wouldve been better for the show. I kept telling myself that they were editing him to look like a quitter for some drama, but he really did have the look of defeat. There are thousands of guys who would give their left nut for the opportunity he wanted to throw away. He just doesn't seem to have the heart. Sadly, I don't see him making it past episode 4.
You guys got Thacker all wrong. He wasn't ready to quit, he was just lulling his competition into thinking he has no skill and can't hack it. When the time comes to fight on the show, his opponent will think he has an easy win but instead will be in for the shock of his life when he gets beat down.
i didn't feel like he wanted to quit because he was being a pussy so much as he felt almost like he was being impolite by not being able to hold his own. i think after they talked to him it changed his perspective a little.
I agree with demandango. I think he was embarassed about not being able to hang and thought that he'd be a liability to any team he was on. I'm sure the UG is full of prime athletes who've never been out of condition, but for some of us we're not always in shape. It feel like ass when you think you're holding others back.
Not to be a bitch, but the UFC is for the best of the best. It's for champions and people who train like them. I don't think he should've been there in the first place. When you go in unprepared, you're disrespecting yourself and the opportunity. Chuck and Randy are champions because they train like them and they give 110%. I hope some of them rubs off on Thacker.