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Jon Fitch doesn’t fight with the same electricity as fellow welterweight Georges St. Pierre. He doesn’t have champion Matt Serra’s charisma. Nor does he have Karo Parisyan’s flashy moves.But unlike the rest of the 170-lb. division, he’s on a winning streak that puts the rest to shame.
“The UFC has the deepest 170-lb. division in the world,” said Fitch (15-2, 1 no-contest). If you’re in the UFC and you think you’re at the top of the heap I want to fight you.”
A loss for any fighter is tough to get over, but a fighter’s first career loss may be the hardest obstacle to get past.Diego Sanchez will have this battle ahead of him at UFC 76: Knockout at the Honda Center Saturday night when he steps back into the Octagon to face a gritty Jon Fitch for the first fight since being handed a “1″ to his loss column.
According to Sanchez he has done everything right so far to prepare for what he calls “the most important fight of my career.” How important is it? Sanchez said that the upcoming bout is a must win for him in order to keep his title dreams alive, and in turn, the fight vs. Fitch has made him more determined than ever.
This is foreign territory for Jon Fitch.
After five years of toiling through the minor league ranks of mixed martial arts and being relegated to “dark” matches of Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view shows, Fitch is on a main card.
The 29-year-old former Purdue University wrestler will face Diego Sanchez in a featured welterweight bout with title implications at UFC 76, on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.
“It’s a little weird seeing the posters and the commercials on TV,” said Fitch, who is part of pre-fight hype for the first time. “I get excited to fight in front of big crowds. I’m used to performing in front of nobody, having 15 people in the stands, maybe my parents, some relatives. But, to me, the energy of a big crowd helps.”
The light heavyweight bout between Chuck Liddell versus Keith Jardine isn’t the only thing to watch out for at UFC 76: Knockout as the upcoming event also marks the return of Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez.
On Saturday, September 22, Sanchez will step up on the Octagon and come to blows with fellow welterweight contender Jon Fitch at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Sanchez, the 25-year-old winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 1, ended his undefeated run in a fight with Josh Koscheck at UFC 69. Several weeks after his fight, UFC president Dana White announced that Sanchez was sick on the eve of the bout and almost had to retire with the detection of Hepatitis C. Eventually, doctors concluded that the initial findings were incorrect and officially diagnosed him with a staph infection.
