Jon Fitch Has a Big Vision for a Rematch With Georges St. Pierre

Jon Fitch grew up in Indiana,  and it’s a state which has produced fighters like Miguel Angel Torres and Stephan Bonnar.  MMA events have been a staple in Indiana for the last ten years. Fitch fights Paulo Thiago as one of five live matches at UFC 100, and he’ll be watching Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves with an eye toward the future.

Fitch is currently the number three welterweight in the world, and he defeated Alves in 2006. His loss to St. Pierre in a five-round title match was a setback, but 17 wins in 18 fights place him firmly in the top contender spot. If  St. Pierre defeats Alves, it’s possible UFC would go another direction for the next welterwieght title match, but Fitch knows he’s not far from another shot.

“I’m not going to predict the winner,” said Fitch. “But I hope GSP wins. I want to fight him for the title. I made technical mistakes the last time.”

UFC president Dana White knows the fighter who once tied the UFC record for consecutive wins with eight – Anderson Silva has since broken the record with nine – should be a star. Even though Fitch lost to St. Pierre in a tough five-round loss, he went from the main event to a non-televised prelim match where he won a decision over Akihiro Gono.

“At least I know my fans are my real fans,” he said. “The guys who get the benefit of the machine getting behind them, their fans can turn on them. They get built up and people get false expectations. When they want to push you, they’ll push you. And the fans can see through it. When they build someone up like they’re Jesus, the fans will turn on them when they can’t walk on water.”

A match with Thiago on the main card at the biggest MMA event ever in North America can’t fail to raise Fitch’s Q-rating.

The UFC has discussed holding a promotion in Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and that kind of home game would be a dream scenario for Fitch, but Fitch has a vision that extends beyond a basketball venue. He’s like to see the fight take place in the 70,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium.

“I guarantee the first time in, they’ll sell it out,” he said. “You’ve got Chicago two hours away. Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis are all within five or six hours.”

“UFC 100 is going to be special,” he said. “I was upset I had to wait so long to fight. I wanted to get in three fights by July, but being at UFC 100 makes up for everything.”

Fitch’s loss to St. Pierre had its silver lining, as it gave him the impetus to go to Thailand for all-out Muay Thai training last fall, as much for a change of atmosphere as to test his own limitations. He noted he could have hired a coach from Thailand in the U.S., but it was testing himself in the sweltering heat and humidity every day that was a key to his month-long trip. The elements were so tough, he said the first week was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

Drawing blood on St. Pierre gave Fitch cause for confidence.

“I think I won the second round,” he said. “And the fourth round was close. If I fought technically better I would have won that round. I lost the first and the third, and cut him in the fourth bad enough to where one more good shot that would have opened the cut could have stopped the fight.”

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