Regularly criticized and inextinguishably fearless—Jon Fitch has embraced the grind unlike any other fighter.
But tonight the grind was halted, as Fitch was submitted for the first time since his MMA debut back in 2002.
Josh Burkman entered the biggest fight of his life (a rematch seven years in the making) on a four-fight wining streak (including victories over UFC veterans Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris), and did not miss out on the opportunity to redeem himself.
Burkman didn’t just beat one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, he did what former ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion Demian Maia could not—submitting arguably the best submission-resistance fighter in the entire world of mixed martial arts.
So will the MMA community rejoice in the fall of one of their most hated fighters?
Probably.
But does that compromise the 13-1 start to Fitch’s UFC career, who has grinded grown men into powder fight after fight?
Does that invalidate the homage to absolutely legendary durability that is going over ten years without a submission loss?
Does such witless behavior and prejudice take even remotely anything away from Jon Fitch’s extraordinary career and the string of almost unmatched dominance he once held?
It never has and it never will.
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