Next Saturday night at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” Jon Fitch will continue his climb up the welterweight mountain when he takes on Chris Wilson, who will be making his debut inside the Octagon.
Fitch goes into this fight with 14 straight wins, seven of those in the UFC. And he acknowledges that going through Wilson — who is on a hot streak of his own — will be no easy task.
“He’s pretty lanky, long and has a pretty good one-two combination, good stand-up, he’s pretty dangerous in that regard,” Fitch told MMAmania.com. “His ground is okay, it’s not great, but he’s dangerous on the ground because he is long and a lot of times the long guys are pretty tricky with their positioning and can do things most guys can’t, so it’s important to keep your game tight with guys like that.”
Fitch is well-aware that Wilson is confident going into this fight and views this as a good thing.
“I only want to fight the toughest guys out there and if you’re afraid to fight somebody or are not really confident going into a fight, then I don’t want to fight you,” Fitch said.
Originally, Fitch was slated to take on former Pride FC fighter, Akihiro Gono. However, a Gono injury forced him out and brought in Wilson.
Both Gono and Wilson are two different fighting styles and Fitch has had to prepare differently for Wilson than he would have for Gono.
“Akihiro is kind of in-and-out, picks his spots to fight, while Chris tends to move a little bit more, also the size makes a difference, a shorter Gono compared to a longer Wilson makes it a big difference,” Fitch said. “I’ve been changing things up with different grappling partners and sparring partners, to match up size and striking ability.”
Fitch knows what he must do to walk out of UFC 82 in Columbus with his 15th straight victory.
“I need to keep my game really tight, don’t get loose, because that’s when he tends to catch people,” Fitch said. “I have to keep it tight and keep the pressure and try to break him with my pressure.”
With Fitch now being among the elite, it’s only a matter of time until he gets a shot at the welterweight title.
Fitch has UFC wins over Brock Larson, Josh Burkman, Thiago Alves and most recently, Diego Sanchez. Fitch believes that he has been in the UFC long enough and has won enough to earn a title shot.
“I think that I’ve put in the work to deserve a title shot. I’ve never heard of anybody with the record in the UFC that I have not getting some kind of title shot. I don’t understand why I wouldn’t or what the deal would be for me not to get it,” Fitch said.
“I don’t get a control say unfortunately. Otherwise, I would have had all marquee match-ups against named fighters instead of against guys who people haven’t heard about who are just as tough as those marquee guys.”
It’s going to be hard to deny Fitch a chance at the title if he wins at the Nationwide Arena this Saturday night. His long win streak is unheard of in this division and in the sport itself. He gives credit to hard work and having fun.
“It’s hard work, just keeping your eyes on the work in front of you and getting done and having fun along the way. I really enjoy the workouts,” Fitch said. “I enjoy learning new techniques and I don’t let any of that other stuff get to me. I’m not here to be famous. I’m not here to be a rock star.”
Jon Fitch = Next WW champion until Shields gets to the UFC
I really don't understand why they put Fitch into a match with a relatively unknown fighter. It just seems like they're screwing him over with a lackluster replacement for his Gono fight.
It's a big f******* joke that Fitch has to fight a 'noname' after winning over Diego. This has to be his last non-title shot (if he wins that is) Fitch is a beast and i would love to see him up against GSP.
But i guess we'll have to see what happens twith GSP vs Serra first... i can't see Matt pull a win off again but you never know
Guys. I got a question for you. Who do you think he should fight? I mean Serra or St Pierre is not an option, at least not until a title shot. He already beat Diego and he won't fight Kos because they're teammates. Going by Sherdog's top ten welterweights (because mmanews top 10 includes Marcus Davis and that is a joke) that only leaves Hughes and Karo left in the UFC. Hughes I think would be a good fight but it seems the UFC will probably let him pick his last few fights and for him to fight Karo wouldn't be the right choice at this point. I think a title match-up would be the best scenario for him versus Karo because that fight needs to be 5 rounds. So, after all of that who do you think he should fight? There are some decent welterweights in the UFC but what would be the difference of him fighting Wilson or him fighting another average UFC welterweight? None, in my opinion and I think the UFC sees this. At least now, they can bring in new talent. Wilson matches up pretty decent on paper with Fitch so hopefully that translates into an exciting match-up. I found some info on this guy and he definitely comes from a good camp with a good record.
By this time next year IMO Fitch will be WW champion.
Not sure why they matched him up with Wilson though. You'd think after beating Burkman,Sanchez,and Alves they'd be giving him more of a top tier guy/bigger draw to fight.
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Guys. I got a question for you. Who do you think he should fight? I mean Serra or St Pierre is not an option, at least not until a title shot. He already beat Diego and he won't fight Kos because they're teammates. Going by Sherdog's top ten welterweights (because mmanews top 10 includes Marcus Davis and that is a joke) that only leaves Hughes and Karo left in the UFC. Hughes I think would be a good fight but it seems the UFC will probably let him pick his last few fights and for him to fight Karo wouldn't be the right choice at this point. I think a title match-up would be the best scenario for him versus Karo because that fight needs to be 5 rounds. So, after all of that who do you think he should fight? There are some decent welterweights in the UFC but what would be the difference of him fighting Wilson or him fighting another average UFC welterweight? None, in my opinion and I think the UFC sees this. At least now, they can bring in new talent. Wilson matches up pretty decent on paper with Fitch so hopefully that translates into an exciting match-up. I found some info on this guy and he definitely comes from a good camp with a good record.
Guys. I got a question for you. Who do you think he should fight? I mean Serra or St Pierre is not an option, at least not until a title shot. He already beat Diego and he won't fight Kos because they're teammates. Going by Sherdog's top ten welterweights (because mmanews top 10 includes Marcus Davis and that is a joke) that only leaves Hughes and Karo left in the UFC. Hughes I think would be a good fight but it seems the UFC will probably let him pick his last few fights and for him to fight Karo wouldn't be the right choice at this point. I think a title match-up would be the best scenario for him versus Karo because that fight needs to be 5 rounds. So, after all of that who do you think he should fight? There are some decent welterweights in the UFC but what would be the difference of him fighting Wilson or him fighting another average UFC welterweight? None, in my opinion and I think the UFC sees this. At least now, they can bring in new talent. Wilson matches up pretty decent on paper with Fitch so hopefully that translates into an exciting match-up. I found some info on this guy and he definitely comes from a good camp with a good record.
I see your point! But i still think UFC should match up Karo and Fitch now and the winner gets the title shot (after GSP and Serra). Karo claims he hasn't ducked the fight so it seems UFC doesn't want it for some reason (Or Karo lies) yeah it agree it should be a 5 rounder but that should be the rematch then!
i'd rather see him fight marcus davis that would be a much better matchup, like it or not marcus is top 10 right now and he looks like he's building massive confidence, to tell you the truth i'd pick marcus to win over fitch, i think marcus has much better finishing tech and boxing.
As much as I hate to say it, UFC brass did the right thing putting Fitch in against Gono, and then Wilson. Diego and Kos are both coming off losses and don't deserve the fight right off a loss. He already beat Burkman, Swick has (had) been out for too long. They don't want to spoil the possibility of the next 2 title fights by putting Fitch in w/ Karo just yet. It was a smart move....give Fitch a tune up before either a title shot or a #1 contender showdown with Karo.
If/When Serra beats GSP again, that'll put GSP just behind Fitch and Karo and one can have the title shot while the other faces GSP. But if GSP beats Serra, Serra likely falls way back and will have to fight 3 or 4 fights to get back in the picture and that leaves Karo & Fitch as GSP's next 2 challengers, until either Serra makes it back in the picture or Kos / Diego / Swick makes a solid run. Having Fitch and Karo both winning their upcoming fights stabilizes the division for the next 18 months.
Marcus Davis? I love this guy, but he is making a living out of beating subpar talent. And he is selling tickets and getting quite a following doing it. Why would the UFC mess that formula up by having him get owned in a fight against Sanchez or Koscheck (much less fitch)? They are much better off letting Davis hang around the bottom of the top 10 making highlights and selling stories than to have all that wiped away with an inevitable loss to one of the many blankets in the division.
All this is pointless - in about 20 months they will all be looking to find a new weightclass to fight in. Jake Shields will arrive in UFC and will walk through them all, and will likely chase the top ones (GSP) down no matter what division they fight in.
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Fitch: I only want to fight the best
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