Tim Thomas Calls Himself A "Crazy" MMA Fan

I know it's a stretch, but considering this is a Canadian MMA blog and nothing is more Canadian than hockey, I figure this is newsworthy. Of course, 2009 Vezina Tropphy winner, Tim "The Tank" Thomas (110-74 NHL) is actually an American, but that's not the point.

The point is that he's a massive MMA fan, as evidenced by this extended interview he gave with Ariel Helwani of MMA.Fanhouse.com

Here's an excerpt for those of you for whom the clicking of links runs counter to your religious beliefs:

Is your nickname "The Tank" because of Tank Abbott?
(Laughs) No. Marc Savard gave me the name "Tank," and it wasn't because of Tank Abbott. It was probably for Thomas the Tank Engine, the little train that could because I was kind of the underdog.

Well, that's not as menacing as Tank Abbott.
No. Although, he's about ready to fight Butterbean, right?

Yeah. Wow, you really do keep up with all the news. That's impressive. Do you watch all the pay-per-views and live events?
Yeah. If we're playing or on the road, I tape them at home, and then sometimes, when we're in the hotel, I can find it. But I tape them all anyways.

Are you the only player on the team that likes MMA?
No, I'm not. Zdeno Chara is a huge fan and Milan Lucic actually is to a certain extent, but not as crazy, maybe, as me. Zdeno Chara is almost as crazy as me, and then our video guy, Brant Berglund, is, I would have to say, the only one who is crazy about watching everything like I am.