Tag: Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch Takes Late-Night Thinking to a New Level with Recent Tweets

Jon Fitch is officially not boring. His most recent fight against Erick Silva tossed that idea at us slow-pitch softball style, but the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight hurtled a fastball of polarizing interest straight at our faces in a r…

Jon Fitch is officially not boring. 

His most recent fight against Erick Silva tossed that idea at us slow-pitch softball style, but the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight hurtled a fastball of polarizing interest straight at our faces in a recent late-night Twitter session. 

The list of Tweets is lengthy (you can’t solve the world’s riddles in 140 characters, after all), but stick with them for full effect. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is you mind blown yet? Probably not, right? I mean, that’s pretty cool knowledge, but it doesn’t exactly enlighten one’s spirit. 

Oh, speaking of spirits, Fitch went on to chuck these at us:

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure if Fitch was hitting the booze (or the bong) or if this is just how the man spends his evenings. Either way, it’s good to know I’m not the only person that stays up much longer than I should pondering the universe’s inner workings. 

Somebody needs to hook this guy up with Mac Danzig, and maybe the world will be free of its petty problems and unsolvable mysteries. 

Fitch, being the gentleman that he is, promptly announced his bedtime and wished us well. 

 

 

Sweet dreams, Mr. Fitch. May your ever-thirsty brain refuel for another night of meaningless speculation. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Fightnomics Releases Figures on Most and Least Active Strikers in the UFC, Jon Fitch Nowhere to Be Found


(Click the image for a full size version.)

Our buddies over at Fightnomics continue to crank out the finest in UFC-related empirical data. They’ve given us a breakdown of everything from how fights end by division to submission success rates by technique, and now they’ve released a statistical compilation of every single significant strike thrown in UFC history. And in even better news, it appears that the average pace at which significant strikes are thrown has nearly tripled since the promotion’s inception, even with Jon Fitch’s seventeen fights taken into account:

Since 2007, UFC fighters average 6.8 significant strikes per minute (SSpM) of fight time. Again, this is not just while standing, but also from dominant clinch and ground positions.  Significant strikes do damage, score knockdowns, set up submissions, or cause referees to jump in for the save.  Significant strikes generally define the action in a fight, and as the analysis shows, fighter output by this metric has changed drastically since the early years of the UFC.

Through the 1990’s, UFC fighters attempted an average of only 2.8 significant strikes per minute.  Averages for UFC fighters then more than doubled to 6.9 SSpM after the sport matured under Fertitta’s Zuffa umbrella.  Modern UFC fighters also score more knockdowns and throw a slightly higher percentage of power strikes than the old guard, further suggesting greater endurance. In terms of accuracy, about 42% of these significant strikes land on target.

My main question, of course, is whether or not those girly leg kicks Carlos Condit used to outpoint Nick Diaz at UFC 143 were factored into these figures. If so, this graph is therefore invalidated by the gold standard for significant strike measurement: The Unified Rules of Stockton. Obvious trolling attempts aside, this data should at least hinder the notion that lay-n-pray is the fastest rising trend in MMA, despite that scared bitch Georges St. Pierre’s endless attempts to prove otherwise.

After the jump: Fightnomics breaks down the most active and least active strikers in the UFC. And somehow, Jon Fitch is nowhere to be found.


(Click the image for a full size version.)

Our buddies over at Fightnomics continue to crank out the finest in UFC-related empirical data. They’ve given us a breakdown of everything from how fights end by division to submission success rates by technique, and now they’ve released a statistical compilation of every single significant strike thrown in UFC history. And in even better news, it appears that the average pace at which significant strikes are thrown has nearly tripled since the promotion’s inception, even with Jon Fitch’s seventeen fights taken into account:

Since 2007, UFC fighters average 6.8 significant strikes per minute (SSpM) of fight time. Again, this is not just while standing, but also from dominant clinch and ground positions.  Significant strikes do damage, score knockdowns, set up submissions, or cause referees to jump in for the save.  Significant strikes generally define the action in a fight, and as the analysis shows, fighter output by this metric has changed drastically since the early years of the UFC.

Through the 1990’s, UFC fighters attempted an average of only 2.8 significant strikes per minute.  Averages for UFC fighters then more than doubled to 6.9 SSpM after the sport matured under Fertitta’s Zuffa umbrella.  Modern UFC fighters also score more knockdowns and throw a slightly higher percentage of power strikes than the old guard, further suggesting greater endurance. In terms of accuracy, about 42% of these significant strikes land on target.

My main question, of course, is whether or not those girly leg kicks Carlos Condit used to outpoint Nick Diaz at UFC 143 were factored into these figures. If so, this graph is therefore invalidated by the gold standard for significant strike measurement: The Unified Rules of Stockton. Obvious trolling attempts aside, this data should at least hinder the notion that lay-n-pray is the fastest rising trend in MMA, despite that scared bitch Georges St. Pierre’s endless attempts to prove otherwise.

And now, the reason you came here: Listed below is a breakdown of the 10 most active and the 6 least active strikers using the data made available through mid 2012.

Let’s start with the highest.

Noticeably Absent: Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar

Surprisingly Present: Jared Hamman, Chris Cope (?!)

Most Likely to go Unrecognized for his Accomplishment: Duane Ludwig….again.

And now, the least active. This list is much closer to what you’d expect, minus Jon Fitch, of course.

So what have we learned? If you throw less punches, chances are your ass is getting fired. With the exception of Volkmann and Zhang — the latter of which has somehow kept his job despite dropping his last three fights — none of the gentlemen on this list are still employed by the UFC. Guess they should have balled up some fists a little more often. That last sentiment goes double for Jon Fitch, who I’m not ready to accept back into my good graces after one decent fight and neither should you be.

For all of this great info and more, make sure to head over to Fightnomics and/or follow them on Twitter.

–J. Jones

Jon Fitch Looking Forward to “More Great Fights” Like Last Win

Perennial UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch only had one fight in 2012, but it was certainly a good one. The 34-year-old handed prospect-extraordinaire Erick Silva his second UFC loss, grinding him down in vintage style, securing a victory, and rest…

Perennial UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch only had one fight in 2012, but it was certainly a good one. The 34-year-old handed prospect-extraordinaire Erick Silva his second UFC loss, grinding him down in vintage style, securing a victory, and restating his claim to a title shot at 170-pounds.

That title shot might not come for awhile though, and Fitch knows that. So, in 2013, he’ll just be looking to build on his performance and let the ships fall where they may. 

Because, as Fitch told MMA Junkie, Georges St-Pierre and his divisional title are “already booked,” this year.

“I think a shake-up could have happened if Johny Hendricks would have gotten the title shot,” explains Fitch. “I think right now it looks like ‘GSP’ will probably defeat Diaz. The way it looks, I think there’s a strong possibility the fight after that will probably be [Strikeforce champion, Nate] Marquardt just because it’s champion vs. champion.”

Unless Fitch misses his guess, that keeps him outside the title picture for the immediate future, but he knows that that is something beyond his control. And at 34 years of age, that’s something he is OK with: 

I think one of the mistakes I made in the past was thinking about what this next fight is going to bring me rather than just focusing on the fight, itself. Throw all of my attention, all my energy, into one fight at a time and make sure I get the most out of that one fight. I think that showed. When I do that, that’s what happened in the last fight. If I continue that process, it’s going to be a lot more great fights like that.

That means Fitch’s focus right now should be firmly on Demian Maia, who has looked superb since dropping from middleweight to welterweight, and who will contest Fitch at UFC 156 this February 2.

A win in that bout would do wonders for Fitch in 2013, but as he says, the subsequent meaning will not be of concern heading into the Octagon.

“Fight by fight,” Fitch reiterates. “Each fight is it’s own fight.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Fighters Need to Take After Jon Fitch and Learn That MMA Is About Entertainment

UFC welterweight Jon Fitch has discovered a truth that all fighters need to learn if they haven’t already: The UFC is in the business of entertainment.Fitch learned this lesson the hard way.The former Purdue wrestling standout won fights in the UFC, bu…

UFC welterweight Jon Fitch has discovered a truth that all fighters need to learn if they haven’t already: The UFC is in the business of entertainment.

Fitch learned this lesson the hard way.

The former Purdue wrestling standout won fights in the UFC, but he did so in unpopular fashion. Fans disliked Fitch for his use of wrestling and smothering control in his fights as well as for his lack of finishes. They branded him with the dreaded “lay and pray” and “boring” labels. 

Thus, the ever-disfavored Fitch had to earn eight wins in a row before being given a title shot against Georges St-Pierre. And what happened when he came up short in that title shot? He was sent straight to the prelims in his next fight.

I’ll say that again so it sticks: He went from contending for a title in the main event of a pay-per-view to being on the preliminary portion of a card in his next fight. That’s what neglecting the entertainment aspect of MMA does to your career.

Fitch knows better now. He told MMAjunkie the following (emphasis added): 

One of the things I’ve come to learn over the years is that the fight itself is a sport, but everything around it is a big circus. If you can make a case for being center ring in the circus, then they’ll give you a chance to take a place in that sport.

I wanted it to operate like a sport, but it’s not. It’s about entertainment. I didn’t spend enough time convincing fans that they wanted to see me in those fights. It was one of those things that I had to accept. If you want to get the big fights, if you want to make money, you’ve got to make sure the fans want to see you fight. 

Fitch has finally listened to reason (and dollar signs). After resisting that aspect of MMA for so long he’s accepted the truth: Fans will only part with their money/time if they feel that the event (be it a PPV or a free event on television) will be worth that money/time in terms of entertainment value. 

There’s a reason why major networks don’t make collegiate wrestling a big part of their programming. Yes, the athletes are superbly conditioned and are some of the most mentally tough people on the planet, but the average spectator doesn’t care about that. 

Viewers want to see action.

They want to see phantasmagorical displays of violence and symphonies of submissions and strikes. If you, as a fighter, can’t deliver this, or feel you shouldn’t have to, have fun fighting for the small crowds on the preliminary bouts.

This rings even truer during the age of the UFC on Fox, where millions of new, relatively uninformed people will be watching—not for Joe Rogan discussing the finer points of the whizzer and how wonderful it is to see two guys clinching for half a round—but for what they perceive to be fighting.

Many MMA fans have this bizarre, orotund belief that appreciating skill above all else gives them some sort of moral high ground and lets them denigrate all those who watch the sport for an afternoon/night of excitement. 

Skill is obviously important. I’ve long maintained that there’s no such thing as a boring fight, only fans who can’t appreciate certain aspects of fighting. But skill that doesn’t produce a memorable fight or skill that is used only to coast to a decision hurts the long-term growth of the sport.

Nobody wins when the sport permanently loses a potential fan due to a bad fight.

We all need to remember that the casual viewership watches the UFC on Fox for the same reasons they’d (presumably) be watching anything else that night: to be entertained. The casual fan will gladly switch back to a rerun of The Office or some other show if they don’t find MMA particularly enthralling.

The majority of viewers (casual fans) don’t care about how good a guy’s transitions are.

They don’t care about footwork. They don’t care about high-level guard passes.

They might in time as they become more educated, but right now, what they care about the most is that a fight delivers one of three things: a knockout, a submission or a captivating and exciting 15-to-25 minutes of entertainment.

Jon Fitch knows this now.

The parts of the MMA world that haven’t figured it out yet need to soon.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Jon Fitch on MMA: Everything Around the Sport Is a ‘Big Circus’

Perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch looked like a new man during his UFC 153 bout against Erick Silva, but the American Kickboxing Academy star has just upgraded.That’s the narrative that Fitch spun during a small seminar with members of the MMA…

Perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch looked like a new man during his UFC 153 bout against Erick Silva, but the American Kickboxing Academy star has just upgraded.

That’s the narrative that Fitch spun during a small seminar with members of the MMA media in Lafayettte, Ind., as he held an open seminar to talk about his upcoming fight and the idea that he’s improved from his former self.

MMA Junkie dubs this new fighter the “Fitch 2.0” model, a man who realizes that fighting is a sport, but the sport of mixed martial arts itself is surrounded by the “big top” that favors big talkers and bigger personalities:

One of the things I’ve come to learn over the years is that the fight itself is a sport, but everything around it is a big circus… If you can make a case for being center ring in the circus, then they’ll give you a chance to take a place in that sport.

I wanted it to operate like a sport, but it’s not. It’s about entertainment. I didn’t spend enough time convincing fans that they wanted to see me in those fights. It was one of those things that I had to accept. If you want to get the big fights, if you want to make money, you’ve got to make sure the fans want to see you fight.

Fitch—often viewed by fans and pundits to be one of the more lackluster fighters in the UFC—has been actively trying to turn his image around. In his last three fights, Fitch displayed more action than usual, beating up Silva and BJ Penn, with a knockout loss to Johny Hendricks in the middle.

Most notably, Fitch won “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 153, and he clearly took more risks against Silva:

I really didn’t do anything different in my fight (with Silva) other than take a couple extra chances, which led to a couple little mistakes. But it’s still the same type of game plan, same type of fight. The big difference is I started fast. Some of the other fights I started a little bit slower. You can look at it fight-to-fight, and I think that would be the one main difference.

Read the full interview at MMA Junkie for more thoughts from Fitch about his training and evaluation of upcoming opponent Demian Maia, former middleweight title contender.

Fans will get to see Fitch 2.0 face off against Maia at UFC 156 in Las Vegas (and pay-per-view) this coming February. Fitch looks to build off his upset win over Silva, while Maia comes into the match following a gruesome submission over Rick Story by way of a neck crank submission.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156: Demian Maia vs. Jon Fitch Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Jon Fitch and Demian Maia took home victories at UFC 153, and later agreed to meet in an important welterweight showdown at UFC 156.Maia defeated Rick Story in a quick submission victory, while Fitch derailed Erick Silva’s bid to become the next b…

Jon Fitch and Demian Maia took home victories at UFC 153, and later agreed to meet in an important welterweight showdown at UFC 156.

Maia defeated Rick Story in a quick submission victory, while Fitch derailed Erick Silva’s bid to become the next big thing in the division with a decision win.

A win for either man could put them in the mix at 170 pounds in 2013.

While Fitch picked up his first win since his quick KO loss to Johny Hendricks, Maia is 2-0 in the welterweight division with two impressive victories. Defeating a guy like Fitch would potentially move Maia in position for a title shot.

Here is how the fight between the two talented welterweights breaks down.

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