Thomas Gerbasi has a fine write up on UFCmania-sponsored fighter Jon Fitch over at UFC.com that is — as usual — top notch.
It’s a comprehensive background piece on the Fort Wayne, Indiana, native as he prepares to battle Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 10 one week from today at the Seminole Hotel Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
We’ve tried our best to pass along as much info on Fitch even before we made the decision to support him via our sponsorship. And if you didn’t get a good feel for his refreshing approach to fighting with all the news and interviews we passed along (check out or Jon Fitch archive), then Gerbasi’s feature is a must read.
Here’s a mash from Fitch:
“I’ve got my nose to the grindstone, do what I do, and things will work out. If I keep training, love what I do, and have fun while I’m doing it, all the other stuff will fall into place. It’s a Buddhist philosophy – desire is the root of all suffering. Our weight class is not only the toughest out there, but we’re loaded with guys. I’m kinda glad they [the UFC] didn’t throw me out there earlier, looking back at it. I kinda like being the unheard of guy. My fans are the solid fans who have been here from the beginning, not the fly by night people. I have a solid base as far as my fans go and everything just kinda fell into place.”
Fitch is winding down his training at the moment and will be in Florida this Thursday for the fight next Tuesday. By all accounts he is ready for Carneiro and is not underestimating his opponent one bit.
Here’s another snip:
“He [Carneiro] poses a serious threat as far as his size – he’s a big 170 pounder. Most of his fights were at 185. He’s a really good wrestler; I watched his Abu Dhabi matches, he has very good takedowns and very good takedown defense, and I’m pretty sure he’s extremely strong and athletic, so the biggest problem he poses for me is that I really don’t know if I’ll be able to physically impose my will on him. This will be something where I’m challenged to defeat him technically.”
This fight will air live on the Spike television network as the co-feature alongside the rematch between Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout — don’t miss it.
In other news, FightNetwork.com is reporting that welterweight Steve Bruno has had to pull out of his bout with Chad Reiner at UFC Fight Night 10 because of a torn rotator cuff sustained during training.
It would have marked the Octagon debut for the current Spirit MC middleweight champion who is riding a four-fight win streak.
According to the article, no timetable has been set for the American Top Team (ATT) product and Iraq war Navy vet to return to action.
In addition, no replacement has been named to face Reiner, who was set to return to the Seminole Hotel Hard Rock Hotel & Casino since his UFC debut and most recent fight — a unanimous decision loss to Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 8 in January.
Considering the short timeframe, it’s unknown at the moment whether the UFC can find someone to fill-in or the show will go on with just eight fights.
We’ll keep you posted.
13 Comments »
I hope to see Fitch in the mix soon enough. This is an obvious must win for him., I can see him putting away Caneiro. The Fitch arsenal is pretty deep, and he seems to be getting better. That should be every fighter’s goal win or lose. Just become better.
Did he mention UFCMania.com on UFC.com? Dont have time now to read it.
No, I don’t think he did MTU
[quote comment=”73424″]No, I don’t think he did MTU[/quote]
Dang it. I woulda loved that.
i don’t think fitch is gonna have a lot of trouble with carneiro, i don’t think it’ll go the whole three rounds, i’d say fitch will wear him down a bit in the first and then choke him out in the 2nd or 3rd, i think fitch vs. karo would be an amazing fight, probably a top ten fight of the year, i can only hope fitch is impressive enough against carneiro that the ufc puts him against karo next, i know that fight was talked about months ago, so i know its in the heads of dana and silva, i think its gonna happen probably around 75 or 76, if and when fitch beats carneiro of course…
i’m not saying carneiro is a bad fighter either, i’m just thinking fitch is gonna use this as an opportunity to show himself to a lot of fans that haven’t seen him yet, and i think he’ll try to impress, carneiro is no puss, but there’s no way fitch is gonna let himself lose on spike in front of millions of people…
no offence to ufcmania.com but damn u guys are all over fitch’s nuts!!!
[quote comment=”73751″]no offence to ufcmania.com but damn u guys are all over fitch’s nuts!!![/quote]
He may not be 100% proven yet but this really is a guy you can’t hate on. He has shown tough heart and resiliance and really was a good pick for an up coming fighter to support. I can’t wait to see what he does from here myself.
[quote comment=”73751″]no offence to ufcmania.com but damn u guys are all over fitch’s nuts!!![/quote]
I posted it in my last thread, but I think it is cool that they have sponsored a fighter, and I had sponsored him, I would want to put his name on my site every chance I got.
Later
Chris Valentine
If you gotta pick someone’s nuts to be on….Fitch has a good set of them….and big too!! I’m joking, but the dude is not only cool as hell, but a fuckin aninimal in the cage. He is a normal dude from the Midwest with an normal family who is simply good at kicking some ass and fun to watch!!
I really don’t understand why people hate on Fitch. He is undefeated in the UFC having more than 5 fights. Can anyone name another fighter that can say that they are more than 5-0 in the UFC???
Please go to dailymotion and watch some of his fights, and any real mma fan would like him as well. Search for Fitch Burkman especially if you think that Burkman is any good. Fitch absolutely manhandled him, and FINISHED him, which Karo was unable to do. He has a lot of heart, a great style, a strong wrestling background and he looks to end fights.
i dont have have a problem with fitch at all i just think they(ufcmania) plug him way too much for an up and comer.
Any guesses on who the UFC will call to replace Bruno. I certainly hope Chad Reiner gets to fight.