MMA Fighting: All Posts by Jon Fitch

UFC 127 Fight Journal: Final Thoughts

2011-02-23T16:00:00Z

I'm currently in Sydney, Australia preparing for my fight this weekend against B.J. Penn, and the days can't pass by soon enough. This fight with B.J. represents the kind of match I want to be involved in at this stage of my career and and I'm determined to make the opportunity count on Saturday night (Feb. 26).

I respect B.J. immensely and have always wanted to fight him one day, and Saturday offers me that chance. As everybody knows by now, B.J. is one of the true icons and pioneers of this sport and is still one of the best fighters out there today. He's in his prime, he's ambitious and he's a great scalp to have for any fighter in the world.

You never really know how good you are until you fight these kind of legends. This is going to be a great test for me and a great opportunity to show the world who I am and what I'm all about. Throw all that in with the fact that I'm headlining an event in Australia, and it's almost overwhelming to try and explain how excited I am right now.

Despite my excitement, however, there is no chance of me getting carried away and losing sight of what my job is on Saturday. I am very confident of getting a victory over B.J. and believe I know exactly what I have to do in order to execute the game plan we have come up with.

More Coverage: UFC 127 Fight Card | Watch UFC 127 Live Online | UFC 127 Results

In fact, a lot of my coaches and training partners have had close relationships with B.J. over the years and probably know more about him than anyone else in the game. So, taking all that into account, we couldn't be better prepared right now.

B.J. got started at AKA years ago and a lot of the same guys that watched and trained him then are still around today helping the likes of me. I see that as a little bit of an advantage heading into this fight. My jiu-jitsu instructor, Dave Camarillo, actually got his black belt at the same time as B.J., and Javier Mendez spent a lot of time working on B.J.'s stand-up when he was at the gym. There are a load of guys there who have experience with B.J. and know how he functions. I'm always getting feedback from those people and really appreciate the insight.
People have said I am B.J. Penn's worst nightmare stylistically, but, to be honest, I think I am pretty much everybody's worst nightmare.
-- Jon Fitch
Whenever you prepare to fight someone, it's best to look at fights where they've had great success and fights where they've had great failure. You pay attention to the things they did which caused both great failure and great success, and those things dictate your own game plan. If you can mimic the fighters that beat B.J., then you want to try to replicate that as much as you possibly can.

At the same time, though, you don't want to try too hard to achieve that and end up changing your own style and habits. I'll never fight exactly like Frankie Edgar, for example, but I can watch how he achieved success against B.J. and incorporate elements of that performance into my own thinking.

Name-wise, credential-wise and ability-wise, B.J. is the best opponent I've faced since Georges St-Pierre and I'm ready to face the challenge. I feel the need to take these kind of fights, as I'm approaching my prime and want to make the best use of it. I can't afford to waste my time in non-event fights. I want to be testing myself against guys like B.J. and discovering just how good I am at this point in my development.

As far as the fight itself, I believe stamina and cardio will definitely be key factors over the course of the three rounds. Cardio is a key factor for me in every fight, but it's also important not to make mistakes with B.J. You can't afford to get lazy or complacent against a guy like B.J. No matter how good shape you're in, if you make a mistake against B.J, he knows enough to put you away. The fight is over.

Ultimately, though, I believe I'm the bigger fighter, the better wrestler and have better cardio. Also, one of the biggest advantages I have going into this fight is that B.J. doesn't really know everything I bring to the table. He has only seen small glimpses of what I can do since that GSP fight and nobody truly knows how I will look when it all comes together. He is preparing for a very fractured and experimental version of myself, but the truth will be something completely different.

People have said I am B.J. Penn's worst nightmare stylistically, but, to be honest, I think I am pretty much everybody's worst nightmare. Sure, I value stamina and cardio a great deal, and B.J. has struggled there in past fights, but that doesn't automatically secure victory. I know that and I'm not foolish enough to think that will be the case. There are still a million other questions to be answered and I'm prepared to come up with those answers on Feb. 27...

UFC 127 will be live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 26. For more information on Jon Fitch, check out his official Web site or follow him (@fitchfighter) on Twitter.

UFC 127 Fight Journal: Dealing With Criticism

2011-02-21T14:00:00Z

One of the great things about mixed martial arts is the diversity of styles it offers. Some fighters like to stand up and strike, others look to go to the ground as quickly as possible, and some of us put it all together and feel comfortable wherever the fight goes. I have always prided myself on being well-rounded, well-conditioned, durable and able to break the will of my opponent.

I think that because I bring so many tools to the table, a lot of my opponents don't know where I'm going to go and more often than not concede to the fact that I will overwhelm them. It's very hard dealing with more than one thing at any one time, and I always make sure I'm bringing multiple threats into a fight. I never just rely on one skill or discipline to win a fight.

Also, you can't expect to overwhelm me with just one thing. I will quickly look to stop that one threat and then ask you to bring something else. If you haven't got anything else to offer, then that's when I take over and make my own skills count. I have a lot of tools to go through and make it a long night for you.

A lot of people label me as a 'grinder', and I was actually the one that started throwing the term out there to begin with. I did a lot of interviews a few years back and people would always ask me what my style was. The most obvious phrase to use to sum up my style was a 'grinder'. I go out there and I grind you down. I put you through a meat grinder and make sure you never feel the same once you've been through it.
These last five fights since the title shot haven't been perfect, but the growing pains are necessary to get where I eventually want to be.
-- Jon Fitch
It may not look as pretty as a surgeon who goes out there and cuts an opponent's head off, but it's no less effective. I will pulverize you and take the time to beat you into a bloody mess. If it takes three rounds to do that, I will enjoy every minute of it.

In addition to this grinding, I'm most definitely a thinker and always think my way through fights. I'm not just going out there and beating someone up. That's not how I function. If you fight like that, you'll only end up getting caught and defeated. I'm thinking about every position and every technique at all times, no matter how on top it appears I am. I don't just run out there like a berzerker and look to overwhelm my opponent. I'm constantly setting traps and planning the bigger picture. Even if you think you're getting the better of me, chances are I'm only setting you up for a big fall.

The criticism I sometimes get for the way I fight never affects me too much. I know I'm going through a transitional phase right now and a few growing pains are to be expected. These last five fights since the title shot haven't been perfect, but the growing pains are necessary to get where I eventually want to be. I need those experiences to be the fighter I want to be.

Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take a leap forward. I believe that is what I have done in recent fights and I believe that in the next couple of fights you will definitely see that leap forward. It might not have been pretty before, but everything is coming together now and I'm starting to realize just how vital these last few fights have been in my overall development.

When Tiger Woods was at the top of his game, they one day decided to change his golf swing and he started losing. After a while that new golf swing began to click and Tiger started smashing everybody again and was even better than before. It just took him a little while to adapt to the changes and trust the direction he was going in.

I'm in exactly the same position right now. I trust where I'm going and never expected it to be easy or pretty. So long as I get there in the end, that's all that matters and that's all people will remember...

UFC 127 will be live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 26. For more information on Jon Fitch, check out his official Web site or follow him (@fitchfighter) on Twitter.

UFC 127 Fight Journal: GSP Loss

2011-02-19T15:00:00Z

I have only lost one fight in my 14-bout UFC career, and it's fair to say that one loss probably had more of an impact on my future results than any of my wins. The sole defeat happened in August 2008 against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, and was my most high-profile fight to date. The experience, though frustrating at the time, has rounded off any rough edges I may have had and allowed me to mature and evolve as a fighter. Nobody likes to lose, but, in this case, the setback has served me well.

I recognized a lot of holes and flaws in my game after the GSP fight and I've worked really hard on tightening them up and getting rid of the bad points. I've changed some things around with my training, switched some personnel around and started working with Gary Owens, my new stand-up coach. We've been working together for two years now and you can really start to see the benefits of the time we've spent together.

I'm now also using a strength and conditioning coach, or, what I like to call a 'speed and agility coach', and that was something I never thought about employing before. I've gone to great lengths to try to help increase my foot speed, hand speed, agility, and to then link all of those movements together. Within a few months, I could tell the difference that type of training was making to my body. It accumulates over time, too, so I'm feeling even better right now.
I'm just concentrating on smashing [B.J. Penn] every which way possible.
-- Jon Fitch
I think my overall timing and movement has got a lot better since the GSP fight. I used to be a little too flat-footed and plodding, but now feel I've cleaned and sharpened that up. I've added a bit more speed and explosiveness to my game and I think that will help me in the long rung. My agility has improved, I'm moving side to side more, my head movement has also improved and I'm just feeling a lot more athletic than I was before. I'm 10 times the fighter I was two years ago and I'm 100 times the athlete I was in my twenties.

Would I like to fight GSP again and showcase the improvements? Of course I would. For the time being at least, GSP is the No. 1 at welterweight and I aspire to one day carry the same status. However, I'm only concentrating on B.J. Penn and our fight on Feb. 26 right now. GSP doesn't figure in my plans at all at the moment, because I can't afford for him to. I can't look past B.J. at something that isn't even guaranteed.

My next fight is against B.J. Penn and, if I don't beat him, nothing else matters. There will be no title shot and there will be no chance for revenge. Everything rests on this fight with B.J. and, as a result, I'm treating this like the title shot. This matters more than any other fight right now.

Also, B.J. being B.J. is such a big mountain to climb in his own right, and it's an impossible task if you're not 100 percent. This is one of the biggest fights of my career and a win over B.J. would do huge things for me going forward. There is a hell of a lot of upside to this fight for me and I'd be a fool to look past it or even contemplate taking him lightly. I'm just concentrating on smashing him every which way possible. Everything else can wait...

UFC 127 will be live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 26. For more information on Jon Fitch, check out his official Web site or follow him (@fitchfighter) on Twitter.

Jon Fitch UFC 127 Fight Journal: My 'Weird Diet' Explained

2011-02-15T12:00:00Z

Much has been made of a video I posted on my YouTube channel, OfficialJonFitch, detailing a few dietary changes I've made in recent months. They say a picture paints a thousand words, but I'd like to now take the time to add a few more words to the video content and fully explain the adventure I'm currently embarking on, three weeks out from my fight against BJ Penn at UFC 127 on Saturday, Feb. 26.

This move towards a healthier lifestyle began in the weeks leading up to UFC 100, when I was preparing to face Paulo Thiago and, a few weeks out from the fight, decided to cut out meat from my diet and eat purely raw and organic foods. I noticed the difference straight away and felt great as a result.

Then, last December, I stumbled across a book called The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, and read it from front to back while out in Australia a couple of months ago promoting this upcoming UFC 127 show.

The book really opened my eyes to a new way of eating and living, and I decided to do a lot more studying as a result. I discovered that many of life's diseases are linked to animal products, preservatives and processed foods and that we, as human beings, are given a choice as to whether we need to eat these foods or not.

Since reading the book, I've basically tried to eat as cleanly as possible and take in as many whole foods and raw foods as I can. I also minimize my meat intake to at least five percent or less of my overall calories.

The first week of this new diet was definitely the hardest, but, if you stick with it, you really start to notice the changes. It then becomes pretty much routine after that and it's just a matter of refining the diet and aligning it to the way you live your life. The longer I eat this way, the more refined the diet will get and the more comfortable the overall process will become.

After briefly going over the basics of this diet in my YouTube video, I noticed a lot of people comment on the apparent lack of meat and, by association, protein in my diet. Well, here's the thing - this no meat, no protein myth is one that has been established and put out there by the companies that make money off the very idea. There is actually protein in everything, including vegetables, and there are many ways of getting it. You don't just have to eat lots of meat to take on board protein.

In fact, the problem with animal protein is that it causes cells to split too fast. Ultimately, though, it's not protein that we need - it is, in fact, amino acids. There are a lot more enzymes in raw food and those enzymes then translate into amino acids.

Consider this: If meat is the be all and end all of protein intake, why is vegetarian welterweight Jake Shields one of the strongest fighters in the world? I always recall the time when Jake trained with us at AKA and surprised everybody with his core strength and ability to hold people down on the ground. Everybody knew the guy had never eaten meat in his entire life, and yet, having trained with him, I don't think there are many stronger welterweights in the world.

I have treated this new diet as one big adventure and I'm enjoying every moment of it. I've eaten the same way for 32 years of my life and now I've got the chance to change it up and explore different methods. It's both challenging and exciting. We're having fun with new recipes and new foods to eat. Also, I actually eat three times the amount of food I did before finding this new diet. If I'm not training or sleeping, there's a good chance I'll be eating.

As far as improvements go, my recovery is now a lot quicker than it was before the diet and I'm able to work-out a lot more as a result. My energy levels have also gone through the roof. I've never felt this energized in my life before. I never even had this amount of energy when I was 20-years-old.

My body fat has also reduced significantly, and I don't really store any food after consumption. Everything I put into my body is burnt off pretty quickly and that is one of the reasons why I need to eat a lot during the day.

We have a few guys at the gym that have now cut back on the meat and cut out their preservatives, but I wouldn't say I've inspired them to do so. We have one guy, Nate Moore, who has taken on the diet, as he picked up some of the same ideas I did from reading the book. His brother is also really into eating this kind of way, so it was a natural thing for him to attempt. He's now eating better, feeling better and just scored a big knockout win on a Strikeforce show a couple of weeks ago.

Ultimately, this will probably just be the way I eat from now on. It will be a lifestyle change. I don't believe in short-term diets or the idea of a quick fix. If you can eat a certain way and feel the benefits of it, why do anything different? I feel great eating and living the way I am right now, so I've got no doubt this will be a continuous thing in my life...

UFC 127 will be live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 26. For more information on Jon Fitch, check out his official Web site or follow him (@fitchfighter) on Twitter.

Jon Fitch UFC 127 Fight Journal

2011-02-10T14:00:00Z

Jon Fitch will be providing MMA Fighting with exclusive blogs leading up to his UFC 127 showdown against B.J. Penn on Feb. 26 (live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET). Check out his debut below.

There is less than two weeks to go before I trek Down Under and battle B.J. Penn, and I'm not sure which of those two things I'm more excited about. I'll be facing Penn on Saturday, February 26 at Sydney's Acer Arena and couldn't be happier with either the opponent or venue.

I'm at the stage in my career right now where I want to be fighting for titles and in main events. I am now a mature and seasoned headline fighter and I want to experience more of these big nights. I don't want to be appearing in the preliminaries or at the bottom end of a main card.

I am going to use this opportunity to prove to everyone that I am deserving of a second UFC welterweight title shot. I've long competed at a good level and actually have the second highest win percentage in UFC history, so I think I've paid my dues.

It's an added bonus for me to headline a show in Australia, too, I'm now part of the push to make mixed martial arts stick in Australia and it's a real privilege. Judging by the amazingly quick ticket sales for this event – fastest in UFC history - I don't think any of us have anything to worry about. Australia gets it.

I had my first-ever taste of Australia when we held the initial press conference for this event in December. It was truly an amazing experience and, in fact, if you visit my official YouTube page (OfficialJonFitch) you can find a series of video diaries I shot while Down Under.

As part of the promotional tour, we did a couple of autograph signings which were crazy. We had to stay one extra hour on one day and an extra two hours on another day, just to get through the line of fans that were waiting for autographs and pictures. An overwhelming amount of people showed up and queued in Melbourne and we were determined to make sure everyone got an autograph. It seemed like the whole of Australia came out for us that afternoon. It was a pretty humbling experience for a guy like me to see that so many people care about what we're doing and aspire to meet us.

I had some time to run around and check things out with my wife and Australia seemed like a great country. Even when we doing the normal tourist thing, though, we'd bump into fans on the street and they'd recognize me. I remember a couple of fans stopping me at a set of lights and turning ghost-white and forgetting to walk. They didn't know any of us UFC guys were in town that week, so it must have come as a big surprise to suddenly be crossing the road with a UFC fighter. I really get a kick out of seeing the excitement that other people experience from watching this sport. It truly means a lot to me.

I've always wanted to one day visit Australia, but I've never really had a reason to go there before. I haven't had the time to go, either. So, when this chance with the UFC came up, it was a great excuse to go and explore a new territory and do something I've always wanted to do.

UFC 127 presents me with a great opportunity to visit Australia and hopefully come home with a few more fans. With that in mind, I've been working super hard in the gym in preparation for this fight. I've got everything moving in the right direction to ensure I peak at just the right time. Although our time zones are completely different, fight time never changes.

UFC 127 will be live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 26. For more information on Jon Fitch, check out his official Web site or follow him (@fitchfighter) on Twitter.