Fitch grinds out Alves, may give him title shot
Jon Fitch defeated Thiago Alves on Saturday at the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ UFC 117 event, likely earning himself a shot at the 170lb title in the process.
Fitch, an American, used his wrestling game to outwork Alves, taking him down nine times throughout the fight and tiring out Alves. The win is Fitch’s fifth in a row since losing a title match against champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 87. Like all of Fitch’s past seven wins, he won a decision, failing to finish Alves despite controlling the fight.
His inability to finish opponents leaves many fans complaining about what they see as his boring style, and it may have cost him his title shot. While before the match Dana White had announced that the winner of this fight would get a shot for the title against the winner of the upcoming fight between St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck, after the fight he didn’t commit to it in an interview with MMAFighting.com, saying there were other contenders in the mix. Fitch faced a harder road to the title because of his low-risk wrestling-based style. Whereas Fitch has had to win five fights in a row, Alves would have been given a title shot had he beaten Fitch, despite not having fought since his own loss to St-Pierre in a title match at UFC 100.
But it wasn’t to be for Alves, and his future in the division may be in question. Alves is likely the largest welterweight in the UFC, cutting down from around 200lb before each fight. At Friday’s weigh-ins he missed weight, coming in at 171.5lb rather than the allowed 171 and was unable to lose the required weight, meaning he forfeited 20 per cent of his purse. He has missed weight before, notably at UFC 85, and tested positive for a banned diuretic at UFC 66 to help him cut weight. During Saturday’s fight the attempt to cut massive amounts of water seemed to have taken its toll, as he appeared drained and exhausted. He may be forced to move up a weight class to 185lb.
As for Fitch, after fighting a fight in which fans roundly booed, he may have to do something to improve his image to market him for a title shot. Additionally the title picture isn’t simple. If Koscheck defeats St-Pierre, Fitch may refuse to fight his American Kickboxing Academy team-mate, as he’s hinted in the past.
If St-Pierre wins though, the UFC may have difficulty selling a rematch of their UFC 87 fight, which St-Pierre roundly dominated, battering Fitch from bell-to-bell, although Fitch’s gutsy performance and refusal to quit make many fans consider that to be his most exciting fight.
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