Jon Fitch is back in the win column, taking a split-decision victory from Marcelo Alfaya at WSOF 6.
In the first round, Fitch was taken down early, and he simply couldn’t get up. He gave up his back with time and was threatened with a rear-naked …
Jon Fitch is back in the win column, taking a split-decision victory from Marcelo Alfaya at WSOF 6.
In the first round, Fitch was taken down early, and he simply couldn’t get up. He gave up his back with time and was threatened with a rear-naked choke. He would survive the round, but it was a sign of things to come.
In the second, Fitch was once again challenged on what is supposed to be his greatest skill, as Alfaya challenged the UFC veteran in the clinch and scored a big double-leg takedown. While Fitch would land a hard uppercut, he failed to mount any major offensive effort outside of that. However, Alfaya was visibly tired as the round wore on, and he took some damage from punches.
In the third, Alfaya shot for an early takedown and was slow to get up. He showed how little he had left in him. Fitch would use that to his advantage, peppering him with unanswered punches between Alfaya‘s failed takedown attempts. With a minute left, Fitch landed a big punch and pounced atop Alfaya, dealing serious damage with ground-and-pound.
In the end, Fitch would take a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight in his favor to the tune of 29-28 (and the other scoring it 28-29 in favor of Alfaya).
In spite of the win, this was a very lackluster performance from Fitch, who failed to show the grappling prowess that made him a Top 10 mainstay in the UFC’s welterweight division for five years. He ultimately took rounds with his striking and cardio, but Fitch is far from top-notch in the welterweight division in either category.
Fitch was controversially released from the UFC in February after a relatively rough stretch where he went 1-2-1 (though he owned an otherwise excellent 14-3-1 overall record in the promotion). The release was criticized by fans and media who believed the UFC had cut Fitch due to his grappling-focused style, but the move was somewhat vindicated when Fitch lost his WSOF debut to Josh Burkman in June via first-round submission.
Fitch will continue fighting for WSOF, at least for one more fight, and will likely face another fighter the UFC controversially casted off, Gerald Harris, who was released with a 3-1 record, which included two knockout of the night bonuses.
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
(Renan Barao: Started from the bottom, now he here. / Photo via Getty)
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
Akihiro Gono was just 19 when the Japanese icon made his MMA debut in his home country against Yasunori Okuda in the first round of the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J’ 94, way back in April 1994. Like many of the fighters of the time, Gono wasn’t ready to defend submissions, and he tapped out to a first-round toe hold.
Gono may have lost the fight, but he would go on to have a very solid career that saw him compete in the UFC, PRIDE, Shooto, Pancrase, Sengoku, and finally Bellator, which would be his final stop.
In May 2012, after a solid 18-year run as a fan favorite, Gono fought for the last time against current Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator 67, losing the fight via first-round KO.
Some will laugh that Minowaman is on this list, but he deserves to be after amassing a respectable 55-35-8 record during his cult-legendary career as a journeyman, where — like the great Fedor Emelianenko — he was notorious for fighting and beating larger opponents in the UFC, PRIDE, Dream and Pancrase, amongst other promotions.
However, he was also notorious for losing to some of them.
The first of his 35 losses came to Yuzo Tateishi via decision on March 30, 1996, at the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J ‘96 in Japan. It was the first of many career losses for Minowa, who started off his career 2-9-2 in his first 13 fights. To his credit though, he rebounded to eventually leave the sport with a winning record, and became a big star in PRIDE because he always put on exciting fights and feared no man.
The name “Minowaman” is always one that makes the hardcores’ hearts beat whenever anyone brings it up. Not bad for a guy who at first glance looked like he would contribute nothing in the sport.
(NOTE: The graphic in the video say his record was 3-1 but that tally likely referred to his amateur fights.)
Back on February 15, 1997 in – surprise, surprise – Iowa, a 24-year-old Shonie Carter got into his first professional MMA fight, the first of many for him.
It didn’t last long, however, as he was KO’ed by future five-time UFC vet Laverne Clark at Monte Cox’s Extreme Challenge 3, just nine seconds into the first round in what was the MMA debut of both men.
It became a classic KO in regional circuit MMA history.
Despite that early career loss, Carter then went on to have an unexpectedly awesome career where he attained 50 wins, including 26 by stoppage. He even made it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and, in total, he fought six times in the UFC — one more than Clark, who knocked him out in that first battle.
One of those 26 aforementioned stoppage wins I mentioned — and one of the best KOs in UFC history — was his spinning back fist knockout of Matt Serra at UFC 31. Serra, who at the time was considered to be below Carter in the ranks, later defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 to win the UFC welterweight title. Carter, on the other hand, never quite made it to the top of the sport, to say the least, but at least he built a memorable persona as a stone-cold pimp.
Brian Ebersole’s first MMA bout took place on February 24, 2000 against Chris Albandia at TCC – Total Combat Challenge in Chicago. He lost the fight via decision.
He was just 18 years old.
However, despite the loss, Ebersole has gone on to have an awesome journeyman career that has seen him compile an excellent record of 50-15-1, 1 NC.
Ebersole finally made it to the UFC in 2012, upsetting Chris Lytle at UFC 127 and then winning three more in a row before a split decision loss to James Head at UFC 149 ended his win streak. He has sat out the past year with injuries.
But things are looking up for Ebersole, as he will finally make his return to the cage at UFC 167 against Rick Story. It’s a difficult matchup on paper, but it’s winnable. And even if he loses, the fans get to see the Hairrow — well hopefully, anyways — or at least one of those fancy cartwheel kicks. Make it happen, Brian.
On April 7, 2007, at UCW 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, two unknown Canadian women fought each other. One was Sarah Kaufman, who would later go on to win the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion and who will be making her UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 166, and the other was a 21-year-old Alexis Davis, who would eventually make it into the UFC as well.
On that night, Kaufman was the better woman, as she finished Davis via strikes in the third round. And Kaufman would demonstrate her superiority once again, defeating Davis via majority decision in March 2012 at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
However, Davis looks to be on the rise, and she certainly showed her potential in defeating Rosi Sexton in her Octagon debut at UFC 161. If her and Kaufman ever meet for a trilogy match, it’s possible Davis might finally get a win over her rival.
(As if Fitch didn’t have *enough* douchebags trying to get photos with him in public. / Props: Getty)
The past year hasn’t been easy for former perennial welterweight title contender Jon Fitch. After a loss to Demian Maia, Fitch was still ranked by the UFC as one of the division’s very best, but that didn’t stop the promotion from firing him.
After being priced out of his job with the UFC, the top-ten ranked Fitch next fought and lost to Josh Burkman in his World Series of Fighting debut. Now, Fitch finds himself apparently unable to make ends meet through fighting alone and he has packed up his family and moved them from San Jose, California, to Syracuse, New York, to take a job at a mega-gym called Pacific Health Club.
“There are financial things to take into consideration — it’s a salaried job with guaranteed income and health benefits for my family,” Fitch told MMAFighting in a recent interview.
“Those are huge, really. Honestly, California is falling apart. The whole country’s kind of falling apart. But the cost of living here in California is ridiculous, and the taxation in California is ridiculous. I’m not sure it’s any better in New York yet, but I’ve got to start doing something, thinking outside the box trying to keep yourself and your family above water and outside the sinking ship.”
(As if Fitch didn’t have *enough* douchebags trying to get photos with him in public. / Props: Getty)
The past year hasn’t been easy for former perennial welterweight title contender Jon Fitch. After a loss to Demian Maia, Fitch was still ranked by the UFC as one of the division’s very best, but that didn’t stop the promotion from firing him.
After being priced out of his job with the UFC, the top-ten ranked Fitch next fought and lost to Josh Burkman in his World Series of Fighting debut. Now, Fitch finds himself apparently unable to make ends meet through fighting alone and he has packed up his family and moved them from San Jose, California, to Syracuse, New York, to take a job at a mega-gym called Pacific Health Club.
“There are financial things to take into consideration — it’s a salaried job with guaranteed income and health benefits for my family,” Fitch told MMAFighting in a recent interview.
“Those are huge, really. Honestly, California is falling apart. The whole country’s kind of falling apart. But the cost of living here in California is ridiculous, and the taxation in California is ridiculous. I’m not sure it’s any better in New York yet, but I’ve got to start doing something, thinking outside the box trying to keep yourself and your family above water and outside the sinking ship.”
Fitch says that he’ll head up the mixed martial arts programs at the 90,000 square foot fitness center in upstate New York. “Just in my MMA section, we’ve got 8,000 square feet of mat space and two full-sized cages,” he said.
“It’s just a ridiculous facility, and that’s one of the reasons I made the move, just to take advantage of what they have going on up there. I’m running the MMA and grappling program, but I’m trying to start a fight team.”
The former Purdue wrestling team captain will still conduct his training camps at the American Kickboxing Academy gym in San Jose that he has helped build, and that helped build his career in return. Fitch next fights on October 26 in Florida against Marcelo Alfaya at WSOF 6.
What do you say, ‘Taters? Are you bummed out that a recently top-ten ranked fighter with one of the very best records in the history of the welterweight division has to travel the entire length of the country to take a civilian job at a gym in order to support his family? Or is cashing in on his reputation and building an MMA camp the best possible move for him at this point?
When looking back at the past few years of their respective careers, it’s hard not to draw a comparison between Yushin Okami and Jon Fitch. We’re guilty of it. Hell, pretty much everyMMAsite out there is guilty of making the somewhat obvious comparison, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Both guys were perennial UFC contenders (or so we thought) who were ranked in the top 10 of their promotion’s horribly preferential ranking system at the time of their release. Both guys also possess a style that is oft described as “grinding” or “taxing” or “like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey at half speed while on Ketamine.”
In an exclusive interview with CagePotato.com, Okami elatedly spoke on his new home in the WSOF and new beginnings in general, as well as the emotional toll his UFC release had on his physical well-being:
Yes. Hello. Yushin Okami. Thank you. Yes. World Series of Fighting. Hello. Thank You. Yushin Okami.
Good to be back, Nation! (*hums Kazoo and hitch kicks off stage*)
When looking back at the past few years of their respective careers, it’s hard not to draw a comparison between Yushin Okami and Jon Fitch. We’re guilty of it. Hell, pretty much everyMMAsite out there is guilty of making the somewhat obvious comparison, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Both guys were perennial UFC contenders (or so we thought) who were ranked in the top 10 of their promotion’s horribly preferential ranking system at the time of their release. Both guys also possess a style that is oft described as “grinding” or “taxing” or “like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey at half speed while on Ketamine.”
In an exclusive interview with CagePotato.com, Okami elatedly spoke on his new home in the WSOF and new beginnings in general, as well as the emotional toll his UFC release had on his physical well-being:
Yes. Hello. Yushin Okami. Thank you. Yes. World Series of Fighting. Hello. Thank You. Yushin Okami.
Good to be back, Nation! (*hums Kazoo and hitch kicks off stage*)
Jon Fitch‘s World Series of Fighting debut was supposed to be a cakewalk. The welterweight veteran was more than a 3-1 favorite against UFC washout Josh Burkman, who Fitch had already submitted in 2006. But when the two fighters met up again in the WSOF 3 main event in June, the narrative quickly changed. Fitch was choked unconscious in just 41 seconds — well done, Steve — and Burkman’s career-comeback was now undeniable.
And while the People’s Warrior is currently slated to fight for the inaugural World Series of Fighting 170-pound title against Steve Carl at WSOF 6 (October 26th; BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Florida), Fitch is once again in a precarious position, fighting just to remain relevant. MMAFighting has confirmed that Fitch will also be competing on the 10/26 card, against American Top Team/Team Nogueira product Marcelo “Grilo” Alfaya (15-6, 1 NC).
Jon Fitch‘s World Series of Fighting debut was supposed to be a cakewalk. The welterweight veteran was more than a 3-1 favorite against UFC washout Josh Burkman, who Fitch had already submitted in 2006. But when the two fighters met up again in the WSOF 3 main event in June, the narrative quickly changed. Fitch was choked unconscious in just 41 seconds — well done, Steve — and Burkman’s career-comeback was now undeniable.
And while the People’s Warrior is currently slated to fight for the inaugural World Series of Fighting 170-pound title against Steve Carl at WSOF 6 (October 26th; BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Florida), Fitch is once again in a precarious position, fighting just to remain relevant. MMAFighting has confirmed that Fitch will also be competing on the 10/26 card, against American Top Team/Team Nogueira product Marcelo “Grilo” Alfaya (15-6, 1 NC).
If you recognize that name, please give yourself 250 PotatoBux. Alfaya had a brief stint in Bellator in 2009, where he scored a first-round TKO win against Joey Gorczynski, but was then KO’d by Jake Ellenberger in just 42 seconds. Though Alfaya is currently riding a three-fight win streak, he’s only competed three times in the past four years.
41 seconds was all it took to put an abrupt halt on the WSOF debut of Jon Fitch.
Josh Burkman locked up a tight guillotine that would choke Fitch unconscious in the main event of WSOF 3, sending the MMA world into a state of shock on the night of June …
41 seconds was all it took to put an abrupt halt on the WSOF debut of Jon Fitch.
Josh Burkman locked up a tight guillotine that would choke Fitch unconscious in the main event of WSOF 3, sending the MMA world into a state of shock on the night of June 14.
Now that the former-UFC welterweight has had some time to reflect on the loss, it doesn’t mean he will ever fully move past what transpired that evening.
“I mean—fighters, I don’t think we ever really get over losses,” Fitch admitted on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour.
“That’s kind of what drives us to keep working and keeps us moving to try and get better. I’ve dealt with it, but I’ll never be over the loss. It’s just a matter of me putting together a win or two and getting a rematch.”
It may be a loss he won’t get over, but it is also one he doesn’t care to ever watch again.
“Just the replay in the cage afterwards was all I needed to see really,” Fitch said, as if admitting to having the 41-second loss on permanent loop inside his head.
In hindsight, he feels he knows the choice he made that ultimately led to him being submitted for the first time since his pro debut in 2002.
“I didn’t respect the choke at all,” Fitch admitted. “I went for the lift right away. There was a moment when he first sank the choke in where I made the decision: I could’ve went one way and defended the choke, or I could’ve picked him up and tried to slam him and I decided to try and pick him up and slam him.
I think that it was much deeper than I thought and when I got to probably the apex of the lift like my body started to give out. I still was conscious, but I felt my body starting to go out and by the time my head hit the matt I was unconscious.“
The AKA fighter went against the logic he usually practices saying, “One of my biggest rules is always defend first.”
He threw caution to the wind due to the confidence in his grappling abilities and because he wanted to make a splash in his new MMA home.
“I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to make this debut the biggest debut, the biggest thing I could and I was looking for something bigger,” Fitch stated.
It wasn’t that he didn’t respect Burkman, he was just extremely reliant on his ability and confidence in not getting submitted.
“As far as submissions go I rarely get choked, even with deep chokes,” Fitch said.
“Even in training and in the gym with high-level guys. So it’s kind of a shock,” he said. “Even a lot of my friends and people that know me were pretty shocked by it too because I’m a pretty difficult person to choke even when it’s in tight.”
The sight of Burkman rolling an unconscious Fitch over on his back is still an indelible image for most who watched that night. Referee Steve Mazzagatti was criticized heavily by Dana White among others, but how did the 35-year-old fighter view the fight’s ending?
“I thought he was fine,” Fitch said. “Traditionally I am a very tough person to choke. So for him to give me the extra time to get out, I didn’t see a problem with it when I watched it back.”
Fitch said the reaction of his better half was a good barometer: “My wife didn’t say anything or complain. So if she didn’t complain it must’ve not been that bad.”
The owner of 24-career victories confessed to having a “different expectation” for himself when he faced Burkman. He put some added weight on his shoulders because he felt he was being treated and promoted very well by his new promotion.
He was well aware that “a lot of people would be watching” after all that took place with his release from the UFC.
Does he feel he disappointed the WSOF and his fans and supporters?
“A little bit, I feel I have let them down a little bit,” he said. “I feel it’s kind of my responsibility to represent and do something big for them.”
He will get the chance to redeem himself soon. However, he will likely have to win at least one more fight as Burkman is expected to be fighting for the inaugural WSOF welterweight title next.
“I think maybe we are looking at something like October,” Fitch said.
As far as how long he wants to continue, Fitch said he wants to fight at least five more years.
“I figure to fight three times a year…That’s at least 15 fights in five years if you’re healthy,” Fitch said. “If I can get 15 to 30 fights in five to 10 years I’d be happy with that.”
Michael Stets is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
41 seconds was all it took to put an abrupt halt on the