UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch hosted a party over the weekend up here in Toronto, Canada, for the UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” pay-per-view (PPV) event on Saturday afternoon.
Jon’s journey north was plagued with frustration because he was held up at San Jose, Calif., airport with frost on the wings of the plane. Apparently, the guy on salary whose job it is to de-ice the wings isn’t very busy down in California and was nowhere to be found.
Jon had some time to chalk it up to an experience and laughed it off when he came into the Diesel Playhouse in Toronto.
His girlfriend’s luck, however, was just a bit worse as her luggage failed to transfer with her into Toronto. Nonetheless, she was in good spirits with her arms full of shopping bags carrying a new weekend wardrobe.
Evidently she looked at this as an opportunity to do some shopping, whereas it would have ruined my weekend.
For an afternoon showing, there was a great turnout with approximately 230 fans coming out. ‘Showdown’ Joe Ferraro was the MC for the afternoon and kept the crowd pumped, showing the reason he is Canada’s leading MMA media personality.
Jon and Joe took to the stage between fights and had some question and answer periods where Jon tossed out some great advice to up-and-coming fighters.
In addition, Jon stated that because he’s had an opportunity to watch Matt Hughes and his fellow American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) member, Josh Koscheck, fight and lose to Georges St. Pierre that he has an upperhand at formulating a gameplan to beat him when the time presents itself.
Jon called out Karo Parisyan from the stage, but in the same breath gave “The Heat” the benefit of the doubt as to the reason the fight that most fans are clamoring to see didn’t happen.
There were some great giveaways provided by Staredown Fight Wear during the event as well.
Jon was a class act and signed autographs and took pictures with his fans, with many asking for the infamous ‘scowl’ for their photo opportunity.
While talking with Jon at the booth, we got on the subject of his last fight in Canada against Jeff ‘The Inferno’ Joslin at Freedom Fight 2005 in Quebec. I had spoken with Joslin only a week ago, and I had an opportunity to broach the subject with him as well.
For those who are unaware, this fight did end in controversy but both of these guys had only respect for each other. In fact, Jon admitted that that fight was the first ‘war’ he was ever in.
In addition, after Koscheck beat Joslin at the Air Force base in Miramar he called Jon and they were in agreement that Joslin was one tough guy.
Jon continued by saying that if Jeff would get healthy and get in the Octagon and rattle off a string of wins, he could see the two of them fighting for the title someday.
The next day Jon hosted a seminar at Ultimate Martial Arts in Toronto. Jon is obviously passionate about teaching what he has learned over the years. It’s part of the reason he’s so stoked about MMAInstructional.com.
He was scheduled to end at 3 p.m. and we had to basically cut him off an hour later. He focused on all points of the game, but zoned in on the importance of wrestling and the transitions and defensive positioning that a solid wrestling background provides.
About 30 eager up and coming Canadian fighters were there to take in what Jon was teaching. MMA Fight Gear Canada provided all of the students with a personalized autographed picture of Jon.
Jon was a fantastic guest, and we’re looking forward to having him back in the future. Jon left the seminar to head home just as a fresh blanket of snow began to cover everything. On that note, we may have him back when it’s a bit warmer next time.
Before leaving he was good enough to sit through one last interview. During this discussion he talked about the injury to Akihiro Gono, which has forced him out of an upcoming bout with Jon at UFC 82 on March 1.
We asked him about his thoughts on a replacement, including Marcus Davis. Not surprisingly, Fitch said he wouldn’t want the fight unless Davis would be at his best, saying seven weeks between fights could be not enough time for him to “decompress” and be in top form.
To check out the entire video interview click here.
Sean McManus is the Director of Media Relations for MMACanada.net. For more information on the MMA scene up in Canada check out MMACanada.net.
25 Comments »
i live very near that place but was not able to go
come on fitch just fight davis that would make the card stacked,.
[quote comment=”275536″]come on fitch just fight davis that would make the card stacked,.[/quote]
Come on man, we are talking about a fighters career here. What sense would it be for Davis to fight just 7 weeks after a fight at UFC 80? Davis isn’t a young guy, he has his career to think about and no one in his camp with any sense would advise him to fight anyone at that point in time let alone a power house like jon Fitch.
Davis has worked hard to evolve from a boxer to a well rounded mma fighter. He has won an impressive 11 wins in a row and though I admit its time that he elevate his level of competition, he needs to give his body the proper time to heal and regenerate to fight form…Then he would still need to come up with a game plan.
I am sorry but Fitch vs. Davis at UFC 82 would be impossible…it wont happen, not at that event at least.
Karo should have Manned up!
[quote comment=”275562″][quote comment=”275536″]come on fitch just fight davis that would make the card stacked,.[/quote]
Come on man, we are talking about a fighters career here. What sense would it be for Davis to fight just 7 weeks after a fight at UFC 80? Davis isn’t a young guy, he has his career to think about and no one in his camp with any sense would advise him to fight anyone at that point in time let alone a power house like jon Fitch.
Davis has worked hard to evolve from a boxer to a well rounded mma fighter. He has won an impressive 11 wins in a row and though I admit its time that he elevate his level of competition, he needs to give his body the proper time to heal and regenerate to fight form…Then he would still need to come up with a game plan.
I am sorry but Fitch vs. Davis at UFC 82 would be impossible…it wont happen, not at that event at least.
Karo should have Manned up![/quote]
My feelings exactly - well said John. I would love to see Fitch fight Davis, but give the guy some time to recoup and throw em’ at the Canadian card!!!
Still don’t know how Fitch could beat GSP. GSP would have to have an off day. He could probably beat everyone else in the world at 170 in my opinion.
As for Davis. He’s dangerous to anyone. Someone with that sort of power and skill with their hands always will be.
Personally I think seeing GSP fight Kos and Hughes would only help Fitch form a winning game plan to a small degree. This is because any game plan being formed will only really work if GSP stops evolving.
In 2 matches we have seen GSP earn even more respect by out wrestling arguably the best wrestlers in the game. I bet they both formed game plans which didn’t involve getting beat at there own game.
But I would love to see the fight.
im guessing fitch is gonna stand with him ( oh but, wait GSP is 10 time better or more than fitch), ok ok then his gameplan is to put GSP on his back (wait mmmm thats practically imposibble) ok then he will ask GSP politely to get on the mat then fitch will submitt him( mmmm i dont think so) i think the gameplan is pay GSP an insane amount of money and have him forfit the fight and fitch wins
[quote comment=”275599″]im guessing fitch is gonna stand with him ( oh but, wait GSP is 10 time better or more than fitch), ok ok then his gameplan is to put GSP on his back (wait mmmm thats practically imposibble) ok then he will ask GSP politely to get on the mat then fitch will submitt him( mmmm i dont think so) i think the gameplan is pay GSP an insane amount of money and have him forfit the fight and fitch wins[/quote]
Or maybe since according to you GSP is invincible, he’ll ask Matt Serra how to beat him…hmmm! GSP is an incredible fighter, but if you think he’s 10 times better than Fitch at anything, you’re delusional. Fitch is a legitimate threat to anyone at 170lbs. This sucks, Karo should have stepped up!
So, wait a minute. What in the hell happened to the girlfriend’s luggage??? You never finished that part. Shotty reporting if you ask me.
Marcus Davis has trained for months for a fight which consisted of him throwing two punches in 30 seconds and leaving untouched and not even breaking a sweat. He is in shape and could adjust his focus on Fitch if he wanted to but Fitch is a very intelligent fighter who does background on his competitors and not sure if they both would be willing to make the move with 40 days until business. I believe that Fitch would definitely win this fight because he does not really have a weakness and for the fact that Davis is somewhat one dimensional with his striking. This fight would boost the card tremendously however its a much better opportunity for Davis than for Fitch.
[quote comment=”275642″]So, wait a minute. What in the hell happened to the girlfriend’s luggage??? You never finished that part. Shotty reporting if you ask me.[/quote]
It wasn’t found…all weekend..I’ll clean up the reporting…my apologies.
Check out these bloody pics of BJ Penn vs. Stevenson fight. These are some of the best fight pics I have ever seen and at the end there is the video of after the fight when BJ Penn is licking Joe stevenson’s blood off of his own gloves…sick bastard, and we thought Florian was a vampire..
Please check out these pics and scroll down for more, u will all enjoy them
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=716655
So is Fitch fighting on this card?
BTW, I think Fitch would absolutely destroy Davis
[quote comment=”275612″][quote comment=”275599″]im guessing fitch is gonna stand with him ( oh but, wait GSP is 10 time better or more than fitch), ok ok then his gameplan is to put GSP on his back (wait mmmm thats practically imposibble) ok then he will ask GSP politely to get on the mat then fitch will submitt him( mmmm i dont think so) i think the gameplan is pay GSP an insane amount of money and have him forfit the fight and fitch wins[/quote]
Or maybe since according to you GSP is invincible, he’ll ask Matt Serra how to beat him…hmmm! GSP is an incredible fighter, but if you think he’s 10 times better than Fitch at anything, you’re delusional. Fitch is a legitimate threat to anyone at 170lbs. This sucks, Karo should have stepped up![/quote]
dude fitch could barely handle sanchez, please tell me you really think he can out anything GSP he is a far better striker like i said 10 times or more, he is extremely athletic he is bigger and stronger than fitch , and he is a better wrestler (as a fact beat 2 world class wrestlers, actually made them look bad). if u wanna add sherk there too becuz he is a damn good wrestler too , so dont really see fitch winning in any way.
Wow, a post about Jon Fitch’s luggage problems. Holy shit, I have an excitement boner.
Excuse me HECTOR
When in the Sanchez verse Fitch fight was Fitch ever really introuble, he threw sanchez around like a little girl. Sanchez threw a guillitine yeah but Fitch didnt even loose a breathe.
GSP has fought and beaeten good, and great guys BUT Non will give GSP a war like FItch.
Im not saying that he is going to Beat GSP, but this fight will be a war, and if it makes it to the 4, and 5 rounds, Fitch could maybe pull off the upset!
But with all the upsets that have happened who knows if will even get to see Fitch GSP this year ahahaha.
But I hope and you should too!
[quote comment=”275930″]Excuse me HECTOR
When in the Sanchez verse Fitch fight was Fitch ever really introuble, he threw sanchez around like a little girl. Sanchez threw a guillitine yeah but Fitch didnt even loose a breathe.
GSP has fought and beaeten good, and great guys BUT Non will give GSP a war like FItch.
Im not saying that he is going to Beat GSP, but this fight will be a war, and if it makes it to the 4, and 5 rounds, Fitch could maybe pull off the upset!
But with all the upsets that have happened who knows if will even get to see Fitch GSP this year ahahaha.
But I hope and you should too![/quote]
Josh, I would have to agree with you. I think Fitch Dominated Diego and I feel that though he would be an underdog, he is the welterweight that would put up the best fight against GSP.
I doubt GSP will loose for a while, but a lot stranger things have happened in the UFC then Fitch beating GSP. I could see them fighting into a 4th or even 5th round. In my oppinion, that is the best welterweight title fight possible involving current UFC welterweights.
Onto some other news: Rich Franklin said after he fights Lutter he is contemplating a move back up to the UFC 205 lb division. He mentioned how he fought at 205 a couple times in the past and that He walks around at 220 lbs and 205 would be a more natural weight for him.
Translation: Anderson Silva has chased me out of the middleweight division. I don’t want their to ever be a chance of having to fight the SPIDER again! I am running as far from him as possible.
I will tell u what would be a great fight to welcome Rich back to Light Heavyweight.
Rich Franklin vs. Shogun!!!!! Rich Franklin, Do u wanna be A F***in Ultimate fighter? think about it buddy…u dont seem to convinced lately!
[quote comment=”275930″]Excuse me HECTOR
When in the Sanchez verse Fitch fight was Fitch ever really introuble, he threw sanchez around like a little girl. Sanchez threw a guillitine yeah but Fitch didnt even loose a breathe.
GSP has fought and beaeten good, and great guys BUT Non will give GSP a war like FItch.
Im not saying that he is going to Beat GSP, but this fight will be a war, and if it makes it to the 4, and 5 rounds, Fitch could maybe pull off the upset!
But with all the upsets that have happened who knows if will even get to see Fitch GSP this year ahahaha.
But I hope and you should too![/quote]
You’re certainly entitled to your own opinion but what facts are your opinions based on? Are we talking lucky punches here? I hope not. I mean yeah, 1 punch KO’s, flash KO’s & fluke KO’s can & will happen with regularity (Serra). However, when you measure 1 fighter against another & remove those possibilities then on paper, who wins?
When you compare 2 fighters based on the above perspective, you have no other choice but to weigh the quality of opponents they’ve faced, their most recent performances, skill-sets, strengths/weaknesses & their athleticism.
Based on these things, I don’t see how someone could honestly predict Fitch to pull off an upset over GSP if the fight goes to the 4th & 5th round when GSP’s conditioning has never come into question under any circumstance. In fact, it was the difference maker in his fight with BJ Penn.
HAVE FITCH FIGHT KOSCHECK
It would be difficult to plan off of the last two GSP fights as Kos and Hughes didn’t really exploit any weaknesses in GSP’s game. Figureing out a way to stuff GSP’s takedowns would be a start. But then you have to contend with his standup, which isn’t exactly sloppy. Maybe plan for a wild right hand and hope it lands? That’s what Serra’s plan was.
Fitch dominated Diego. MMA judges are idiots sometimes, seriously (split decision?). He made him look physically weak in the clinch and on the ground, almost as if they belonged in different weight classes. You could see as the rounds went on that Fitch’s strength was wearing Diego out.
Fitch is a big tall WW, he’s strong and he’s a really good wrestler. Can he outwrestle GSP is the question. His boxing’s not too bad, and his height and length helps in that department (he’s 6′). GSP’s got better kicks. I donno. It would be a good fight to see but it’s pretty hard to gauge how close Fitch is to GSP’s level until he fights someone that GSP has already fought. Fitch is definitely promising though.
Interesting note - Fitch holds a TKO loss to Wilson Gouveia from early in his career, a guy that fights at 205.
[quote comment=”275985″]Onto some other news: Rich Franklin said after he fights Lutter he is contemplating a move back up to the UFC 205 lb division. He mentioned how he fought at 205 a couple times in the past and that He walks around at 220 lbs and 205 would be a more natural weight for him.
Translation: Anderson Silva has chased me out of the middleweight division. I don’t want their to ever be a chance of having to fight the SPIDER again! I am running as far from him as possible.
I will tell u what would be a great fight to welcome Rich back to Light Heavyweight.
Rich Franklin vs. Shogun!!!!! Rich Franklin, Do u wanna be A F***in Ultimate fighter? think about it buddy…u dont seem to convinced lately![/quote]
Rich needs a few warmup fights to get his confidence back up.. 205 is a dangerous place to do that. Maybe we’ll get to see Machida vs. Franklin II down the line sometime. Man, if he loses that fight he’s gonna need to get a “Black House owns me” tattoo on his buttcheek. It’s only right.
lol yeah fitch is good man totally respect his skills but i honestly dont know how people can say that they have a gameplan for GSP how can u possibly make a game plan for beating someone who is better than u in every aspect of the game… kos,hughes wat are there strong suits… wrestling its not like fitch is some kinna new breed hes a wrestler turned MMA to is he not??? so wats his game plan ganna be? mabe the matt serra game plan get incredibly lucky…?
Seamus,
I didn’t have time to read this at all today, but I printed it, will read tonite, and will post something… I’m looking forward to the read!