Jon Fitch speaks out: "I'm irritated, I'm pissed off. I'm tired of being ignored."
“I get no respect, I tell ya.”
-Rodney Dangerfield, Comedian 1921-2004
In his nine-year career, UFC veteran and welterweight contender Jon Fitch just seems to not be able to catch a break despite being 13-1-1 in his UFC career with his only loss against current champion Georges St-Pierre. The division one NCAA wrestler from Purdue University may not have the most crowd pleasing style in MMA, but it works and it gets him the most important thing of all which of course are victories. In a very stacked welterweight division despite his success in the Octagon, he hasn’t been able to get a title shot since August 2008. His last bout with BJ Penn at UFC 127 was supposed to be a number one contender match, but since it ended in a draw a rematch was to be scheduled at 132. Unfortunately due to both fighters getting injured during training, Penn vs. Fitch II was scraped altogether. BJ Penn is now scheduled to face Carlos Condit at UFC 137, leaving Jon Fitch with a question mark opponent until he is medically cleared to fight.
In a very candid interview with MMA Canada, Jon Fitch lets the Mixed Martial Arts world know his about his true feelings on a wide variety of topics. From his performance against BJ Penn, who he feels he should fight next, and his’s feelings towards Nick Diaz. The normally calm Jon Fitch chooses not to pull any punches in this interview and drops a few choice words in the process.
On the BJ Penn rematch situation:
You know, me and BJ verbally agreed in October when I’ll be healthy, but I still don’t medical clearance, I don’t have doctor clearance, I’m still suspended through the commission. And the UFC, it’s never been their policy to sign fights if someone’s not eligible to fight through the commission. I just couldn’t sit by and wait and watch my fight leave and go away, because I’m left with nothing. I tried as hard as I could to secure the fight with BJ, but it happens when you’re hurt and you’re on the shelf.
Who he wants to fight when he’s medically cleared:
Martin Kampmann might be a smart fight right now. He’s the only guy I can think of right now who’s healthy and who doesn’t have a fight scheduled, and has a big name and is a very tough opponent.
On potentially fighting teammate Josh Koscheck:
Not gonna happen. I’d rather murder everyone and spend the rest of my life in jail.
His opinion on Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz at UFC 137:
I know they’re selling the marketablity of ‘title vs. title’, but I don’t value Nick Diaz‘ title at all.
On Nick Diaz:
He’s the only man that’s ever talked s*** about me, and he talked s*** about me when he was protected by not being in our organization. He’s not protected by that anymore. I feel that his recent career is very padded. He fought at 160 against some very small guys, and he fought at 170 against guys who couldn’t wrestle. I’ve never had anyone talk s*** about me, and I don’t deserve to have s*** talked about me. He was just insulting my style. Well, f****** if you can’t beat my style, then you suck. Sorry. If you can’t beat it, you can’t beat it. Me and Nick Diaz are gonna fight. We’ll fight. He has no takedown defense, anybody who can even wrestle a little bit can take him down all day long and hold him down. And I don’t see you as a complete fighter if you can’t f****** stay off your back.
Jon concludes the interview with a strong statement:
I’m irritated. I’m pissed off. I wanna hurt some people. I wanna finish a lot of people and I wanna do it in style. I’m tired of being skipped over and I’m tired of being ignored, and it’s time for me to make some noise.
I highly recommend you watch the full interview below and be sure to keep it on lock with Lowkick.com for more developments on the situation!
Photo: Jon Fitch, left, fights Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 during a mixed martial arts match at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on Saturday Sept. 22, 2007. Photo credit: Francis Specker
