Jon Fitch is widely considered the number-two welterweight in the world, and he has been for the past several years.
The reasoning behind is reputation is simple… he wins, a lot.
In fact, Fitch has only lost one contest inside the Octagon and that came way of his UFC 87 title fight back in 2008 with Georges St Pierre. It’s a fight that GSP still calls his toughest to date.
However, earlier this year, Jon met a new challenge in the form of BJ Penn, and his winning ways were again halted when Penn was able to outpoint him in the first two rounds to earn a majority draw on the judges’ scorecards.
After a scheduled rematch with Penn fell through due to an injured shoulder, Fitch is now on the mend and currently rehabilitating from surgery. Trying to stay relevant, he often takes to twitter and his YouTube channel and stakes claim that he only wants a fight with Penn or GSP upon his return to action.
However, UFC president Dana White may have something else in mind for the number two ranked welterweight in the world, as he states, “What guys want to do and what happens are two different things. If we can give him all champions and ex-champions, we’ll see. He’s gonna have to fight who we say he’s going to fight.”
Fitch is reportedly going to be ready to start training again by next month. The two fighters he wants to face are already booked. So what is next for Jon Fitch? Will the UFC put him right back in the title hunt or will he be stuck back on the proving block yet again?
JAKE SHIELDS
Fitch is a baby. first hes boring as hell i dont remember the last time i saw one of his opponents leave the octagon in pain. he is captain lay and pray. now hes saying he just wants to fight champions and former champions. listen buddy fight who they give you dont be a stubborn dick. get out of the ufc and go to amateur wrestling
Cut him Dana, PLEASE…..the mma world would breathe a sigh of relief, one more fight not going the distance! LOL PENN NATION!!!!!!!!
i’d cut GSP before i’d cut fitch. at least jon is a likeable guy.
Bahahahaha!! Good thing you don’t run the UFC. Apart from being the top WW in the UFC…yes he is. Ask his last 9 opponents. He’s also the top money maker for the UFC. Cutting him would be like Dana cutting off his own balls, his right arm, and left foot. Pass that shit your smoking guy. lol
I swear the UFC should cut Fitch and declare that day to (get rid of lay n pray day) i would bet the there would be a celebration by MMA fans across the nation and world. Tired of fitch talking like he thinks he is MMA royalty when in FACT everyon ethinks he is the most boring fighter in all MMA. what Fitch does inside the cage should not even be considered fighting. using a 30 pound weight advanatge to hump a guys leg is not fighting. All they need to do is have same day weigh ins at fight day an d fitch would have to go up 1 or 2 weight classes. Just because the guy is a freak and can make 171 and 30 hours later walk into the cage at 202 lbs should not be allowed. a fight should not be won by who is the best weight cutter. Fitch started his career at lighheavyweight and got his as kicked ans then got his ass kicked again at 185. Seems like every few months more and more fighters are fitching their opponents and ruining MMA.
If he wants to fight a former champion, put him against Serra, I smell upset of 2011!!!
The only fight that would be relevant for him would be… Josh Koscheck.. but Fitch won’t fight him. They could test and up and coming fighter like McDonald or someone else.. but theyre probably not ready for that yet. I cant think of anyone else. Fitch is going to have to wait… LOL
Give him Rory Macdonald!!
Jake shields or Rory Macdonald…
Anthony Johnson would beat Fitch, someone needs to knock his boring ass back down the ladder, I’ve no interest in watching him dry hump his opponents, I don’t think he could do that to Johnson.
give him the winner of sanchez vs hughes
I agree……he should take the winner of Sanchez vs Hughes. I see Hughes dismantling Sanchez easily, setting up a Tito type cinderella story for his bout with Hughes, a fight the UFC would be very interested in with all of this story behind it……..and Fitch getting KTFO by Hughes……knocking him back down the ladder! PENN NATION!!!!!!!
Jake Ellenberger. Dude is a monster
Rick Horror Story would counter wrestle him and hopefully KO fitches boring ass
How is fitch #2 WW? Lets see oh he beat Ben saunders WOW and Thiago Alves twice who has shitty takdown defence. then fitch loses 2 rounds to a lightweight who he outweighed by 30 lbs at fight time. WHy doesn’t the UFC make Fitch fight koscheck? why should other WW contenders fight Koscheck but not fitch? Fitch hasn’t fought sheilds , Condit, Ellenburger, Kim, Story, Hendricks who has way better wrestling or Rory Mcdonald who would take it to fitch and beat his ass. what about Mike Pyle who has a submision win over Fitch? Fitch hasn’t fought any of thse TOP contenders but he still thinks he’s top dog behind GSP. i think Fitch saying he’s #2 is about as accurate as Fedor saying he is still #1 HWT in the world.
Jon has earned his keep. Hate to say it..but the guy has put in the work.. came out on top.. he definitely deserves an upper echelon opponent. Just like BJ deserves upper echelon competition. Granted..B.J.’s fights tend to be more entertaining..but the fact still remains… Jon also puts in the work… diets to make the weight….. and wins his fights… he deserves respect.
MMAislandjunkie i diagree with you on Fitch being current #2 contender based on how many other way more active WW’ts are tearing thru top contenders lately like Condit has but i totally agree with your above statement of why Fitch is expendable. Why should all the other WW contenders have to go thru Koscheck but not fitch? is that fair? They ahve gotten away with this 5 years now and its time for Dana to either say fight each othr or get the hell out of the UFC. i mean can you imagine if the UFC had fighter approval ratings/rankings? Fitch would be at like 1%. even if Fitch was on a tear (WHICH HE IS FAR FROM BEING ON) how does fitch justify a rematch with GSP. GSP gets more well rounded every year while Fitch is if anything even more one-dimentionel an d his wrestling is nowhere near as good as GSP’s. I mean look at it from GSP’s perspective what would another 50-43 blowout fight against Fitch do for his legacy? GSP is already known as a champion who has had rematch after rematch. At this rate of rematches GSP is going to retire having fought less than 15 different fighters in his career
Really you guy’s either: 1.don’t know shit about fighting and/or mma 2. just have a very low attention spans or 3. are just dumber then a box of rocks. Because Captain Lay in Pray as you all so eloquently put it, is one of thee most well rounded and toughest fighters in the world. When he lays on you pray he does not get a chance to choke you out cuz his ground game is serious. Was no one watching the war betwixt him and the bjj prodigy the man, the realest myth you can get, the legend BJ PENN? And all respect to Penn but he lost that fight, he was getting leaned on and bullied and Penn didn’t like it and could not stop it. And Fitch nullified Bj’s ground game I mean that in it self is a feat. So if y’all don’t want to watch Fitch fight look away,but you should respect this man and his formula. Its gotten him to the top though if he improves his stand up then not only will his tv rating would go up but he could be number 1 welterweight in the world. To sum it all up and not very one has the ko power of Bj and the ground game of …. Bj and not every fight will be exciting as most of Bj’s. There are many styles of fighting and many aspects off mma Fitch is good at all of them and great at sum, if you can’t see that maybe you should pay attention to the fights more. Or just find something else to do period.
Macktin how can you sit her and even act like its a fair match between fitch and Bj Penn. Did you know according to Joe rogan via crazy bob cook Fitch weighs 202 lbs at fight time. BJ weighed in at 167 and fights at around 170. Do you think that makes it a level playing field for any fighter against fitch? Fitch clearly lost rounds one and 2 in that fight and round 3 was not a 10-8 round. Maynard knocked frankie edgar on his ass 3 times and then pounded his face in for 5 minutes and that fight was scored 10-8. at no time was BJ hurt to where he was going to tap of the ref ws going to stop the fight. What matters is Dana white thought BJ won the fight. Fitch is no longer #2 because he failed to beat a lighweight and he refuses to fight koscheck and his last 3 years consist of beating Alves and Ben Saunders (where is he now) and a DRAW with Penn. Compare what Condit has done in last 2 years and it blows away what Fitch has done his entire career. Condit K O’s top ranked fighters and people want to see him fight (UNLIKE YOUR BOY FITCH) who most people flat out say they wish he would just go away and they have no desire to see him hump another fighter. How does a figher like fitch brag about have a bjj blackbelt yet he can’t even attempt a submission because his entire game is about wrapping around someones leg using his HUGE weight advantage to LAY N PRAY to run out the clock. sorry thats not fighting and the fans have made it clear to UFC they will not pay to see Fitch in the cage.
winner of shields and ellenberger
As you well know or should know Bj fights any body regardless of weight I mean we agree dude’s a gamer. As far as whom Fitch fights is not on him, I do believe Mr. Silva alone with Mr. White makes the fights. I personally don’t believe for a second Fitch is scared of Koscheck, unless you heard it from his mouth then your going on hearsay, or an unfounded opinion. I honestly don’t know what Fitch’s stance is on fighting Josh. I do know he is under contract so if the higher powers that be so choose to make him fight Josh then the two will fight, that is if Jon wants to continue to get paid. Also the fact that Fitch weights 202 on fight day is not even a valid argument. The only way UFC could stop that is having same day weigh-ins and they don’t for a reason I suppose, personally I would like to see that. But to fault Fitch for leaning on his opponents and riding them for 15 mins is crazy, because it’s legal. Fitch has a good game plan and also a system that works, hating on him for using his weight(in that weight class) is like getting hating on Kendall Grove for using his height (in that weight class). I feel these fans really don’t like or rather understand what Fitch does in the clinch and/or the ground game. So may be they should go look up a Maui Thai, Boxing or any other striking based league for there entertainment. I do agree Fitch needs to use his stand up more, but he compinsats so well that it was not a factor in his rise to the top and that should be respected not shunned. I don’t like judges, I feel that a decision win is felonious but my opinion is not how the world is run. I would much rather to see two spent warriors in a sloppy final 7 min round were you know some one is getting finished; and because of Fitch’s style he and fighters like him would win even more. I mean come on there’s a reason why the refs do not stand them up though a lot of times I wish they would, but because of the amount of technical work and amount of energy they spend on the ground the refs just don’t mess with them. I would love to see some rules get changed but we as fans have to remember this level of organized mma is still in its infancy stage and things will change. So I just invite people to come and enjoy the sweet science of thee sport, all of it not just the knock outs or submissions. But the battles that take place when the fighters struggle for position, when pummeling, attempting sweeps, or even some thing as simple as hand placement. With that being said, a figher like Fitch can brag about have a bjj black-belt because he can attempt submissions, because he is smart enough not go for every submission he sees thus keeping his (in the judges eyes) a wining position while scoring point and going home with a w. If his opponents or the fans don’t like it STOP IT, but discrediting a hard working man like that is just plan ignorant and disgraceful as person and also an mma fanatic. Again the utmost respect to Bj Penn (I mean the man has a high-school named after him) but he lost that fight, and every one who knows any thing about jujitsu should respect the high level of jitz that was displayed. Mind you that both of these fighters were getting hit, and yaw know what every wrestler says “A black belt becomes a blue belt real quick when they are taking hits”. Since yaw are hating on thee man Jon (with his “rudimentary” game) to a game ready BJ Penn to a “stalemate”, that’s honestly a win. A win of the morale kind but still is better then these b.s. decisions that the judges give out (seemingly for Vegas). Fitch is a big part of the sport and he is exposing the glaring holes in the sport, and if all yaw really like the fast pace action say thx to him because his game forces the big bodies to review the rules and fighters. Thus making this already wonderful exciting sport exponentially better, and you can’t frunt on that pimpin.
Fitch is a dicrace to all the Realfighters in MMA. using th e bullshit rules to lay on your opponnet with 30 lb weight advantage is not impressive to me