Jon Fitch
Former welterweight contender Jon Fitch (23-4-1, 1NC) returns to action this weekend when he takes on Erick Silva in Brazil as part of the pay-per-view card of UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar.
Fitch is hoping to make a second title run with a victory over Silva and is looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 last December.
The defeat came at the twelve-second mark of the first round, in a fight that Fitch wouldn’t have taken because of a second-degree MCL tear but he reveals to ESPN.com that he needed the money.
“I should have pulled out of the fight; I should have tried to postpone the fight. But I wasn’t in a financial position to do that. I had a pregnant wife, two mortgages and we were living in pretty much rubble from the remodeling we were trying to do to our house. I couldn’t afford to not fight that night.
“So I rolled the dice to see if I could somehow pull out a victory with an injury — fighting with one leg.”
“My body is healthy for the first time in a long time,” Fitch said. “I haven’t felt this good training and getting ready for a fight in … I can’t remember when. I’ve been feeling so many crappy injuries over the years; I’m finally healthy and ready to do work.”
Fitch earned his last victory in August 2010 following a 171.5-lbs catchweight bout with Thiago Alves at UFC 117. The unanimous decision win was Fitch’s fifth straight following a loss to 170-lbs division champ Georges St-Pierre.
Following the Alves victory, Fitch faced BJ Penn in Australia at UFC 127 ending in a majority draw. The two fighters were to rematch but the bout failed to solidify.
Fitch then lost to Hendricks, and was then associated with a match versus Aaron Simpson this summer at UFC on FUEL TV 4 but withdrew due to a knee injury.