Fitch/Gono Slated for UFC 94, Aurelio Cut + More UFC Quick Hits

(When Jon Fitch says he’s going to wear your ass like a hat, it’s not a threat — it’s a guarantee.)

According to a report on MMA Mania, Jon Fitch will begin his road back to title contention with a fight against Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 (January 31st, Las Vegas). Fitch, who most recently dropped a unanimous decision to welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 in August, was previously scheduled to face Gono in March, but a hand injury forced “The Japanese Sensation” to drop out of the match; Gono went on to lose a decision to Dan Hardy at last month’s UFC 89. The UFC’s Super Bowl weekend card will be headlined by Fitch’s old nemesis GSP facing BJ Penn, as well as Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva.

In other UFC news…

— Apparently back-to-back losses were enough to get Marcus Aurelio’s contract shredded. Five Ounces of Pain reports that the American Top Team fighter has been let go following unanimous decision defeats at the hands of Tyson Griffin (at UFC 86) and Hermes Franca (at UFC 90). Though Aurelio has had an impressive career and holds victories over Takanori Gomi, Masakazu Imanari, and Rich Clementi, he leaves the Octagon with a 2-3 UFC record.

— Spike TV sent out a press release today confirming that Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns will have their rematch at the TUF 8 finale (December 13th, Las Vegas). Johnson and Burns’s first match in July ended in controversy when Johnson succumbed to multiple eye-pokes due to Burns’s inability to make a closed-fist; a not-quite-on-the-ball Steve Mazzagatti awarded Burns a TKO victory. Both fighters have lobbied for a rematch since then. It has also been confirmed that a middleweight scrap between Wilson Gouveia and Jason MacDonald will also be on the card.

— Tamdan McCrory and Jorge Gurgel may be medically suspended until May 15th — best thing for them, really — while Randy Couture has to sit out until January 15th and Brock Lesnar is on time-out until December 16th.