Jon Fitch

From CageWiki

1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 UFC Career
4 Departure from the UFC
5 Mixed martial arts record
6 Gallery
7 External links

Profile

Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who fights out of the American Kickboxing Academy.

He stands 6 ft. 0 in. (183 cm) tall and fights in the welterweight division. He last fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in August of 2008.

Early Career

Jon Fitch made his professional mixed martial arts debut on July 13, 2002 against Mike Pyle as a part of the inaugural Revolution Fighting Championship card. Fitch was unsuccessful in his debut, losing to Pyle via rear naked choke submission 2.35 into round 1.

Following the Pyle fight, Fitch racked up two victories in one night against Dan Hart and Eric Tix. He suffered defeat again in his next fight three months later when he was knocked out by a knee from Wilson Gouveia, 3.38 into round 1.

After going to a no contest with future TUF 3 participant, Solomon Hutcherson three months later, Fitch began to truly come into his own as a mixed martial artist. In November of 2003, Fitch defeated Shonie Carter via submission due to a slam, 41 seconds into the third round. He then defeated three opponents in a one night, 8 man tournament a little over a year later, with a 2nd round TKO victory over Alex Serdyukov capping the tournament victory.

In July of 2005, Fitch defeated Jeff Joslin via split decision in a highly controversial bout that featured a number of questionable refereeing decisions. The victory pushed Fitch's winning streak to seven.

UFC Career

Sporting an 11-2 (1 NC) record, Fitch received a call up to the big show as he was signed to a UFC contract and inked to face Brock Larson in a middleweight match-up at UFC Fight Night 2. Fitch defeated Larson via unanimous decision.

Fitch made his UFC welterweight debut in his next fight as he faced TUF 2 veteran, Josh Burkman who was on a bit of a roll in the UFC at the time. Fitch surprised many with a rear naked choke victory over Burkman, 4.57 into round 2.

Two months later, Fitch stepped back into the cage, this time against Brazilian Thiago Alves. Fitch scored takedowns and punished Alves with ground and pound. In the second round, Fitch ended up on his back but unleashed a vicious upkick which Alves did not recover from. Fitch scored a TKO victory 4.37 into round 2.

At UFC 64, Fitch faced Kuniyoshi Hironaka. The Japanese fighter threatened with a few triangle choke attempts but was for the most part, overwhelmed and controlled by Fitch for the full three rounds.

Still toiling in relative obscurity, Fitch picked up rear naked choke victories over Luigi Fioravanti and decorated BJJ black belt, Roan Carneiro respectively in his next two bouts.

At UFC 76, Fitch was given the high profile bout he had earned when he was matched up with TUF 1 winner, Diego Sanchez. In a close fight, Fitch pulled out the split decision victory to move one step closer to a UFC welterweight title shot.

In a bout many thought was a showcase bout for Fitch, the AKA product faced Team Quest member and UFC virgin Chris Wilson at UFC 82. Fitch scored a unanimous decision victory in a lacklustre bout that had many criticizing his performance. The victory earned Fitch a UFC title shot as well as equalling the record for the most consecutive UFC wins. He joined UFC hall of fame member, Royce Gracie with his 8th consecutive victory inside the Octagon.

In the training camp for his title shot, Fitch was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Dave Camarillo.

At UFC 87, Fitch faced off against UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre. In a high paced and exciting bout, Fitch was simply outmatched by St Pierre. St. Pierre scored a number of knockdowns in a bout that left Fitch's face very damaged. The Canadian retained his UFC belt with a unanimous decision victory.

Departure from the UFC

On November 20, 2008, Jon Fitch was released from his UFC contract for failing to give the promotion exclusive lifetime video game rights to his name and likeness. Fitch had signed and handed in bout agreements to fight Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 but that fight will no longer take place.

On the November 21, 2008 Jon Fitch was brought back into the UFC fold after agreeing to sign the contract. He will still face Akihiro Gono at UFC 94.