Perennial UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch has never been a big fan favorite due to his grinding, wrestling-heavy style, which is why his comments to Bloody Elbow’s Stephie Daniels on Monday raised some eyebrows.
When the American Kickboxing Academy product was asked how he feels about fighting Brazilian up-and-comer Erick Silva in his home country at UFC 153, he had a pretty interesting scenario thought out in his mind:
“I love Brazilians. I love jiu jitsu. I've always gotten a lot of warmth for my jiu jitsu from the Brazilian fans, so I'm hoping I'll be well received and hopefully, by the end of the fight, I'll have them cheering for me like Rocky in Rocky IV.”
In Rocky IV, Balboa goes to Moscow, Russia to fight “The Siberian Bull” Ivan Drago. Despite the event taking place during the Cold War, Rocky’s grit and determination wins over the fans as the fight goes into the later rounds. Of course, you already know this or you wouldn’t be reading an MMA article on the Internet.
This was likely just a cheeky reference by Fitch and he was in no way trying to be serious, especially given the other comment he made about his upcoming bout:
“I'm excited about this fight. One of the reasons I got into the fight game was to travel the world and visit exotic places and fight the locals, so now one of my dreams is coming true. I get to go to Brazil and fight Erick Silva in his home town.”
Fitch is pretty straight forward there, so one would have to assume he was just joking when he made the Rocky reference. The 34-year-old made some other whacky comments earlier in the interview though. Believe it or not, Fitch believes his most recent loss at the hands of Johny Hendricks, a 12-second knockout, was an early stoppage:
“He dropped me with a good punch. I've been dropped before. Three has always been the number I believe, three unanswered blows before they should stop it, but I only got hit twice. I was up and completely fine immediately after. I immediately recognized the ref as he was jumping on me. I was fine, and I think I could have went longer.”
This response is a real head scratcher, as Fitch clinched up with referee Steve Mazzagatti after the fight was stopped; actually putting Mazzagatti in side control he was so out of it.
After losing a lop-sided unanimous decision to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 87, Fitch looked like he may challenge for the title again after rattling off five straight wins.
However, after going 0-1-1 in 2011, losing to Hendricks and fighting to a draw with BJ Penn at UFC 127, many fans are wondering if Fitch’s best days are behind him.
Can Silva bring out the best in Fitch again or will the highly-touted grappler lose two in a row for the first time in his career?