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Aug
4
Jon Fitch; really? Jon Fitch; really!
August 4, 2008 |
The other day I was minding my own business when I overheard a conversation between two casual MMA fans. I was partially listening, and partially reading a book, but I almost had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on myself after swallowing my coffee in a painful manner when I heard the following statement; “I don’t know why Jon Fitch is even getting a title shot. I mean, He’s been in the UFC for a few years and hasn’t really beat anybody. I think Dana White just needed someone for GSP to whoop up on.” Now, I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable when it comes to MMA, but likewise, I have no problem shutting my trap and letting others voice their own knowledge of the sport, but this is one occasion where I almost had to chime in and verbally layeth the smack down, as the saying goes. I didn’t butt in, but I do, however, hope that the two young men in question stumble onto this article.
While I do think the notion is ridiculous, I can still understand why some of the less knowledgeable MMA fans may think that Jon Fitch hasn’t really made a name for himself, because after all, the old adage “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is so true. The guys who are flamboyant and loud are the guys we remember (AKA Tito Ortiz). The guys who are super-ripped and genetically stacked are the ones we tend to think of quickly (See Joe Riggs and “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk), and you know we all remember the dyed hair and crazy tattoo guys (how about Chris Leban, Hermes Franca, and Jeff Monson). Well, minus two small-ish tats, Jon Fitch looks like the guy working at Home Depot who’s just trying to pay off his school loans. The biggest difference between Fitch and Mr. Home Depot is that Fitch can kill you without power tools.
So what has Fitch done lately, I mean really? Well, for starters, his last loss was 17 fights and almost 6 years ago. How’s that for being Mr. Consistent? But who has he beaten, I mean really? Well, he beat a pretty good Shonie Carter, who was 29-8-7 coming into their fight, the 11-0-1 Brock Larsen, who after last night is now 23-2-1, and he absolutely pummeled the great Thiago Alves, who right now looks unbeatable. Fitch submitted the 11-1 (at the time) Luigi Fioravanti, trounced the pretty decent Chris Wilson (13-3 at the time), not to mention he beat the all world Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez (18-1 at the time, 19-2 now). That’s pretty impressive, no matter who you cheer for.
Most MMA experts worth their salt could potentially see Jon Fitch beating Geroges St. Pierre on August 9th, and if he does, the cries of “upset” will be screamed from the mountain tops by novice MMA fans and so-called experts. I’m not saying Fitch will definitely beat GSP, one of the world’s best, but I am saying that he can, and if he does, it will be no upset. This fight is one that is as well matched as any in recent memory. When you log on to MMA Bulletin on August 10th, don’t be surprised if the first line you see says, “Fitch takes out GSP, wins title.”
