Jon Fitch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jon Fitch | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Height | 6 ft. 0 in. (183 cm) |
| Weight | 170 lbs (77 kg) |
| Born | February 24, 1978 |
| Fighting out of | San Jose, California |
| Town of birth | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Fighting style | Wrestling, kickboxing |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 13 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 3 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
Jonathan Parker Fitch (b. February 24, 1978 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
In 2002, Fitch graduated at Purdue University with a Bachelor's in Physical Education and a minor in History. A member of the Purdue wrestling team, Fitch – a four-year letterman – wrestled under the tutelage of Tom Erikson and eventually became the team captain of his wrestling squad.
Erikson – a former PRIDE fighter – would occasionally bring other mixed martial artists to the wrestling gym, and Fitch would be introduced to such fighters as Mark Coleman and Gary Goodridge. The sport, and the money that the top-tier fighters were making, interested Fitch, and he started his mixed martial arts career in 2002.
Fitch is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Dave Camarillo as of 2/13/07.
[edit] Career
Fitch began his career at light heavyweight with a record of 1 win, 2 losses, and one No Contest. Understanding that the sport required cross training in the martial arts, Fitch soon left for San Jose, California to train with the American Kickboxing Academy, and consequentially, has been undefeated since then.
In his next seven fights, Fitch would amass wins over fighters such as Shonie Carter, Alex Serdyukov, and Jeff Joslin. After failing to make the selection process for the first season of The Ultimate Fighter – a last-minute decision by the production team that left Fitch stranded in an airport with his luggage already boarded – he would earn a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 3, 2005, where Fitch defeated Brock Larson in a middleweight bout.
Soon after, Fitch dropped to the welterweight division, and won his next two UFC fights against Josh Burkman and Thiago Alves. Despite his success in the UFC, Fitch went 3-0 in the organization before being offered the chance to fight on a live broadcast. At UFC 64, Fitch made his pay-per-view debut, defeating Kuniyoshi Hironaka by unanimous decision. At UFC 68 Jon will face Luigi Fioravanti. Jon defeated Luigi Fioravanti via Rear Naked Choke in round 2 of the match. After the match, Jon stated that he would like to face Karo Parisyan in his next fight.
[edit] Trivia
- Won an eight-man tournament in Mexico while recovering from mononucleosis
- Has an Indiana teacher's license
[edit] References
- Gerbasi, Thomas. "Jon Fitch – The Best Unknown Fighter in The World?" (June 26, 2006).
- Getting to Know Jon Fitch MMAFighting.com, (August 25, 2006).
- Mendoza, Ricardo. Jon Fitch Ready to Break out in UFC MMAWeekly.com, (June 28, 2006).
