When Din Thomas retired in early 2014, it brought an end to an MMA that began in 1998. During a 16-year pro career, Thomas competed against the likes of former champs B.J. Penn, Jens Pulver and Matt Serra. Yet, despite his accomplishments in the sport, Thomas remarked shortly after his retirement that MMA fans would not remember him at all.

Time will tell if Thomas’ brutal self-assessment will hold true. However, if he has his way, fans and fighters alike will remember him for his post-fight career – a career that began when he and another retired fighter launched MMA Scouting Report (www.mmascoutingreport.com).

The company was founded after Roli Delgado suffered a knockout loss in 2012. Following that defeat, the former UFC and Bellator fighter asked his opponent’s coach how they got the jump on him. The reply, that they had put together a lengthy dossier on Delgado before the fight, was the impetus for MMA Scouting Report.

Thomas thought the idea of a scouting service for fighters was brilliant. However, the duo found that active fighters were slow to come around to the idea of having a pair of retired fighters scout their opponents for them and come back with a seven-page written report.

“We were faced with some resistance,” Thomas told MMAjunkie. “A lot of fighters just rely on training round after round, and hoping for the best because that’s the way its always been done.”

A second barrier is the fact that many fight camps already use video as a scouting tool. Thomas says he understands that, but he also feels that video review by those close to a fighter is far from the best route to take.

“There are two reasons why letting an outside source do the work is better,” he said. “One is to eliminate bias. Some fighters inaccurately estimate their own skills or inaccurately estimate their opponents’. The second reason is this work is pretty tedious. Most fighters don’t have time to do it the way I do it. Most coaches don’t have time either, especially if they are coaching a team of fighters.”

That dearth of time available during training camp also led Thomas and Delgado to improve upon how they deliver their completed scouting reports. They still deliver the written evaluation, but accompanying that information is a detailed video breakdown of the scouted fighter.

“It was very difficult to get these guys to read (the reports),” Thomas said. “Fighting is such a physical thing that to ask a fighter to sit down and read a report was difficult. All they wanted to do was hit pads and spar. So I taught myself to edit video. After doing that, it made it easier to get guys to see what I see. It’s like watching the movie and reading the book.”

Thomas and Delgado tracked results when they first launched MMA Scouting Report. Early on their fighters compiled an impressive 14-2 record. Thomas said he doesn’t know the current record of clients since he and Delgado no longer look at wins and losses.

One of the reasons they no longer track records is confidence. Thomas’ feeling is that if clients use the report, they will greatly increase their odds of winning. Another reason is that they never know when they’ll run into a fighter or camp that thinks they know better than the duo.

“I’ve done reports for people, and I know for a fact 100 percent they didn’t use it,” Thomas said. “I could have predicted the outcome based on the report. I’ve had a few times where they admitted to me after they lost that they should have listened.”

One fighter who has listened and found success is current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.

Lawler began to use MMA Scouting Report prior to his May 2014 TKO win over Jake Ellenberger. Lawler also used the reports for his win over Matt Brown and prior to his UFC 181 win over Johny Hendricks, the fight that put UFC gold around his waist.

“The more eyes to break something down the better,” Lawler said of Thomas. “He does a good job recognizing certain traits or patterns, so I feel that’s useful.”

Thomas, like Lawler, is a product of American Top Team. The ATT association is one that Thomas still takes seriously – so seriously that he said he won’t scout against a member of ATT.

While that decision may put a limit on the number of clients MMA Scouting Report can take on, Thomas isn’t concerned. He feels there are enough fighters looking for assistance that he doesn’t need to sacrifice his allegiances.

While his new venture would seem a dream job for a retired competitor who still loves the fight game, Thomas said it has its drawbacks. There’s no longer time for him to kick back on a Saturday night and watch a fight for pleasure. If he’s watching fights these days, it’s strictly business.

“Convincing guys that a lot of the training most people do is wasting valuable time,” Thomas said when asked about the single toughest part of his job. “I try to convey that fighters are only given a certain amount of time and energy. Fighters want to do things that make them feel accomplished and strong, like lifting weights and pad work, which may be good for their confidence, or they want to spar round after round with no objective. But you might be fighting a guy with an unstoppable double leg and a sharp right hand. You better have a few reliable answers for that. That is the easiest part.

“When guys can understand that aspect of it, it makes what I do very easy and enjoyable.”