UFC welterweight Jon Fitch was called out by the up-and-coming prospect Rick Story early this week, well Fitch’s answer was a resounding no, and Rashad Evans is partially to blame for that. Fitch said that Evans enlightened him to the fact that he should only be fighting against opponents who will help prgress his career, which pretty much means only against the champ or other high-profile fights.
As of right now Fitch says he is only interested in fighting GSP for the title or a rematch against B.J. Penn with whom he fought to a draw with in his last bout, though I am very confident that he wouldn’t turn down a fight against Jake Shields either. Fitch is playing a very dangerous game right now with his career, he could get the fights he wants, but the UFC could also essentially put him on ice and sideline him until he is willing to cooperate with them.
I’m certain some of the reasoning for this decision stems from Nick Diaz getting the next shot against GSP, but due to injuries and timing that was kinda the best fight that they could come up with unless the wanted St.Pierre sitting out until next year. Also Fitch has been led to believe that he would be getting title shots before just to have them taken away after he wins his fights. Add to the mix that Dana White and the UFC have shown time and time again that their first priority is to put together marketable fights that people will pay to see, with having the best fight being a distant second priority(excluding the times when those two priorities align perfectly) its hard to see how Fitch has any leverage in this situation as most people find his grinding out wins while not finishing anyone style boring.
Personally I think Fitch has every right to refuse to fight anyone that isn’t going to propel him into another shot at the title, I mean going 22-1-1 in his last 23 fights should count for something, but I’m just not sure its actually going to get him what he wants, considering that he’s dealing with a boss who isn’t exactly his biggest fan. You can read more about Fitch’s decicion and the reasons behind it here.
