T. Jay Thompson has worked very hard to promote NHB in Hawaii and has ended up building a world renown event bringing in fighters from all over the world. It was big news when T. Jay hooked up with the Shooto organization and was sanctioned to hold official Shooto events in Hawaii. The Hawaiian NHB fans, myself included, loved the fights and the fighters that were brought in to compete. Recently, however the Shooto commission suspended Thompson's license. I called up T. Jay on September 14th, to find out why his license was suspended and to see what he has in his bag of tricks.

FCF: When were you sanctioned to hold official Shooto bouts?
T. Jay Thompson: You'd know that better than I would. [laughs] I think it was about the [Marcelo] Tiger - [Egan] Inoue card. I think the under card was all Shooto.

FCF: So it was about June of '99, or so?
TJ: Yeah, something like that. Yeah, June of '99.

FCF: How many events have you put on that included Shooto matches?
TJ: About 6 events, something like 40-50 matches.

FCF: Recently, the Shooto commission suspended you from holding any more Shooto matches. What happened?
TJ: I judged a RINGS event in Japan. I was invited by Mr. Maeda to judge the Tamura-Miletich event, so I did it. I had a great time and watched some great fights. They decided that, because I worked with the RINGS organization, that they would suspend my license.

FCF: The Japanese people are fiercely loyal people. And the Shooto commission felt that you betrayed them by your participation in the RINGS show. Do you think this suspension was unfounded?
TJ: I respect Shooto's decision, but I also stand by the decision that I made, to judge an event that I felt was a legitimate event with some great fighters and some great fights. I have since written a letter of apology to the Shooto commission, apologizing for not communicating the fact that I was going over to judge the RINGS bout. But it certainly wouldn't have changed the fact of whether I would do it again or not. It's something that I would do again and something that I would probably do in the future.

FCF: Obviously you enjoy putting on Shooto matches did you think that this would bring this kind of an uproar?
TJ: I am a HUGE Shooto fan number one. I always was, before I promoted Shooto events and I will be even though, at the present time, I'm not promoting Shooto events. I still think it is one of, if not the best run organization in the mixed martial arts today. I have a great respect for the [Shooto] commission and for Sakamoto, the types of events they run, of course their fighters, like Sato, who we had fight here in Hawaii. I am very happy about that. And the rest of their fighters and champions are great and I will always feel that way. I hope to see a lot more Shooto fights in the future.

FCF: Do you think that hosting the recent RINGS event that was recently held in Hawaii further strained the relationship?
TJ: I was actually not the official host of that event. Monte Cox was the official host of that event. I helped him out in anyway I could. I thought that it was a fantastic event, but I think that it definitely added to the strain. Shooto does not have a good relationship with RINGS. I would like to have a good relationship with both organizations, but I don't know if that's possible or not.

FCF: So you are kind of in limbo with Shooto right now?
TJ: Yes, I would invite the Shooto commission to take a look at the work that we've done together in Hawaii and helping to bring Shooto to the American public and certainly to the Hawaiian public. We have done some great things for Shooto at the Future Brawl show here in Hawaii and I would love to do great things for them in the future. In the same aspect for me, they have added credibility to our shows and I am very happy with that. I think what is supposed to happen, and I don't know what that is, but I'm going to keep on doing the footwork on that and I am just going to keep putting on great shows. I have an event on October 7th in Guam then one scheduled here on November 14th. And if the Shooto commission sees fit and wants to talk again about possibly putting on Shooto events, I would certainly be open to that. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will, but I am interested in talking with them in the future.

FCF: Do you have any plans to work with RINGS while all this is taking place?
TJ: Well, from what I saw from their organization both in Utah and in Hawaii and over in Japan, is that they are a very well run organization and have some top notch fighters. Tamura was extremely impressive when I got to see him fight over there. He's a great middleweight fighter. I'm also a big fan of the RINGS rules. I think that RINGS is exciting for NHB fans here in the United States and abroad. The Hawaiian fans especially, I think, had a great time at the Rising Stars event. There are no pending plans with RINGS, but I am certainly in touch with the organization and I would be open to doing things with them in the future.

FCF: Because you are kind of in the middle of both organizations, what direction are you planning to go in the future? Or are you waiting on either organization?
TJ: It has never been my style to wait on anybody's organization. I feel like the Future Brawl event has created it's own path, even without me, it has taken on a life of it's own. And I'm going to continue doing, is what I have said before, just doing the footwork and it's going to go where it's going to go. If I see opportunities to further the event or, more importantly, further the sport, I'm going to take them. I think that, to this point in Hawaii, I've taken the leadership position as far as promoting NHB fighting in Hawaii. It's something that I take great pride in and I hope that it's something that I can continue doing in the future.

FCF: Do you want to share any match ups that you have for the Guam show or the next show here in Hawaii?
TJ: I actually had a meeting yesterday with Ray Cooper's management to get him to fight Chad Saunders on November 14th, which would actually be a first for Ray, to be the main event fighter. Also, Baret Yoshida is fighting tomorrow night in Japan [Baret won a majority decision over Okuchi in Japan on September 15th] and if he is healthy after that fight, we will also be looking for him to fight on that November 14th card.

FCF: Any name fighters in Guam?
TJ: Dan "The Beast" Severn will be headlining the event in Guam fighting Cabbage [Wesley Cabrerra, a tough Hawaii fighter]. [After a chuckle from me] So what, you want me to retire the old man for good? [more laughter]. John Chrisostimo, Kai Kamaka, and Yobs [more local Hawaii fighters] will fight over there and of course the Guam fighters. It will be a normal Guam show. I actually look forward to doing a Guam show. We're like a little fish in a big pond. We get good press coverage over there, they realize that it is a sport. The crowds are really fun over there.

FCF: Thanks T. Jay.
TJ: No problem, thank you.