UFC 117: Jon Fitch - “A Perennial Contender”

Jon Fitch faces Thiago Alves in the UFC 117 co-main event on August 7th

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You will not see too many highlight packages with Jon Fitch’s picture on the cover, or associated at all for that matter. Fitch, however, doesn’t seem to care much about those type of accolades. To him and any of the fans that like his grind-it-out style, there is only one thing that matters…winning.

Winning is what Fitch does best; he has compiled an overall 22-3, 1 NC record over his 8 years as a professional mixed martial artist, including 20 wins in his last 21 bouts. With 12 wins in 13 UFC bouts, you would think that Fitch may have been in more than one title contest. The truth, however, is that other than his UFC 87 loss against Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title, Fitch hasn’t seen a championship fight.

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While many believe that Fitch gets overlooked when determining who the next contender should be, one would make a huge mistake to count out the former Purdue wrestler. Although nothing is set in stone, a victory over Thiago Alves at the upcoming UFC 117 event on August 7 th, Fitch could be given another shot at the title. That is as long as his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Koscheck doesn’t upset St. Pierre after the 12 th season of The Ultimate Fighter wraps up. If that turns out to be the case, Fitch has already claimed that he will go up to the middleweight division and challenge for the title against the 185-pounders.

All of that title talk may be somewhat a little premature as Fitch first needs to get by the ultra-aggressive Alves. His strategy should not change much; Fitch simply plans on outworking his opponents. He counts on his superior wrestling, ground and pound, and high-level cardio to push him through. For this particular bout though, one area that he must be careful with is his stand-up, an area not known to be his strength.

For Alves though, stand-up certainly is his strength. Alves has the power to knock any 170-lb. fighter out, Fitch included. Although Fitch is the only fighter to TKO Alves (in a previous bout in 2006), he must play it smart at the beginning of each round and plan to get the fight to the ground when he can. If he executes and makes this a ground battle, he should be in great position to win his 5th consecutive bout.

When Fitch does get this fight to the ground, it should be only a matter of time before his experience takes over. Alves does have a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it doesn’t compare to Fitch’s wrestling skills. If this fight spends any time at all of the ground, Fitch will be on top making it a long frustrating night for his counterpart.

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It’s a great time to make this fight happen as both welterweight’s are still near the top of the 170-lb. division. For Fitch, it nears a point of anticipation, due in large to this rematch already being cancelled twice in the past year. I think with the win, Fitch deserves the next title shot, but whether he gets it, especially with the recent addition of former Strikeforce champ Jake Shields, or whether he takes it, is another question. For any matter, the wait looks to be over and it sure looks to be well worth it.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer