UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch was dealt a blow recently when an expected rematch with BJ Penn was shelved by the promotion, with Carlos Condit now stepping in to face the former champion.
Fitch explains why he believes the fight didn’t take place despite the fact it seemed a logical next step given their ‘majority draw’ decision at UFC 127.
“Well, you know…BJ’s healthy and I’m not,” Fitch tells MMACanada. “They wanted to get him active and be active, because he kinda has a lot of buzz on him right now, and they can’t schedule me a fight, being injured.”
Fitch says he won’t be cleared by a doctor until August 16th, and he’s now turned his attentions to figuring out who he’s going to fight after that.
Unfortunately there are few options available with many of the other top contenders already scheduled to fight in the coming months. There is one 170lb’er that does catch Fitch’s attention however.
“I think Martin Kampmann might be a smart fight right now. He’s the only guy I can think of right now who’s healthy and who doesn’t have a fight scheduled, and has a big name and is a very tough opponent.”
Regardless of who he faces, Fitch is itching to get back to competing, and wants to make a definitive statement in the Octagon upon his return.
“I’m irritated. I’m pissed off. I wanna hurt some people. I wanna finish a lot of people and I wanna do it in style. I’m tired of being skipped over and I’m tired of being ignored, and it’s time for me to make some noise.”
Watch his full interview below.
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