Irish Whip Fighting Exclusive: Jon Fitch Interview

IrishWhipFighting.com had a chance to speak to UFC Welterweight Jon Fitch. Fitch is quickly climbing up the welterweight ranks and has had much success in the UFC thus far. See what Fitch has to say about his experiences as a fighter and his upcoming fight against Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 on September 22.

Hey Jon, thanks for taking the time to take this interview. We here at Irish Whip Fighting are huge fans and cannot thank you enough for your support! Irish Whip Fighting would also like to congratulate you for your dominating performance at UFN 10 and racking up another jaw-dropping victory over Roan Carneiro.

General...
Masson Liang: What influenced you to start a career in mixed martial arts?
Jon Fitch: My assistant coach at Purdue University, Tom Erikson, was fighting in Pride at the time. He would have Gary Goodridge and Mark Coleman come into town and help him train. It looked like fun so I would get involved and help out. I’ve been hooked ever since.

ML: Who are your biggest influences/heroes in MMA today?
JF: My trainers and team mates.

ML: Who has been your toughest opponent thus far and what do you consider the biggest/best win of your nearly flawless record?
JF: Kinyuoshi Hironaka was one of the toughest guys I’ve fought. He seemed like nothing I did to him hurt him. Carneiro was a difficult fight because of his size and strength.

UFC...
ML: Climbing up quickly in the rankings among top fighters in the welterweight division (i.e. GSP, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Karo Parisyan), whom do you look forward to fighting the most in the near future?
JF: All of them. I want to fight all of the best fighters in the world. I’m not one of those fighters that want to be famous and have a title but not really ever fight the best competition. I would rather never be heard of and beat all the best guys. At the end of the day I only care about how I feel about myself.

ML: You said you felt "demoted" for not being featured on the main cards of the UFC events, how does it feel to finally be bumped into UFC 76's main card?
JF: It’s great because it allows me to get the fights I want. Many of the top fighters didn’t want to fight me because no one had ever heard of me. Now they won’t have a choice but to take the fights with me.

ML: After Diego Sanchez's first loss to the hands of Josh Koscheck at UFC 69, did you spot any weaknesses of Diego's that you're prepared to capitalize on at UFC 76?
JF: I have been studying Diego, and many other top fighters, for a long time now and have game plans for most of them already. Everyone has weaknesses in their game; it’s just a matter of exploiting them.

ML: Have you taken any drastic changes in your training regimen in preparation for Diego Sanchez? Has training gone fairly smoothly and injury free thus far?
JF: I have a great team and system for my training. I have no reason to make major changes to it. I have been working with some very good south paws and wrestlers to help me prepare specifically for Diego.

ML: Rumors surfacing in June claimed that you were originally set to face Karo Parisyan at UFC 76. With Sanchez as your newly confirmed opponent for UFC 76, is a match-up against Karo Parisyan still in the works for the near future?
JF: Like I said before, I want to fight all the best fighters. I think that Karo is one of the best, so he is still definitely on the list of guys I want to fight someday.

ML: Having Wilson Gouveia now in the UFC, can Fitch fans look forward to you avenging that loss in a rematch anytime soon?
JF: Not very likely. Wilson has gotten much bigger since our fight and I have gotten much smaller. I don’t see this fight ever happening. I actually owe a big thanks to Wilson. If he wouldn’t have knocked me out that night I might not have started on the path I am on today.

ML: Not to put you on the spot or anything, but who are you rooting for in the Couture-Gonzaga fight for UFC 74 and the Jackson-Henderson fight for UFC 75?
JF: I don’t really root for anyone to win fights other than team mates. I just want to see great fights and maybe some techniques that I might not have seen before.

Training...
ML: Recently returning from Japan, how were your experiences over there and did you get a chance to train at all or was it just a good ol' vacation?
JF: It was a great experience. I got to train with Kastsuhiko Nagata, who I went there to corner at K-1 Heros. I also got to train with former opponent Hironaka. I also got to meet and hang out with Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, which was a crazy experience. Kid is as famous in Tokyo as Shaq is in Miami.

ML: Have you trained at camps anywhere outside of the U.S.? If not, is there any place you have your eyes set on to go train in the future?
JF: I got to visit a few gyms on Japan and it is possible that I would go and train for a short time at the Killer Bee's gym. For the most part though I feel that my gym, the American Kickboxing Academy, is one of the best gyms in the world and there is no reason to train anywhere else.

ML: Is there anyone out there that you'd absolutely love to train with?
JF: I would love to train with Aoki, he ground game is amazing and I think it would be a good experience to roll with him.

Misc...
ML: Taking a quick peek around Irish Whip Fighting, what do you think of the site?
JF: I think it has a good look, but could use much more news about me. hehehe.

ML: Are there any last words you'd like to say to the hardcore Fitch fans out there? Sponsors to thank?
JF: I would like to thank Toe2Toe.tv and jigsaw inc. Also check out my website at fitchfighter.com

We at the Irish Whip Fighting team cannot thank you enough for taking the time for doing this interview and we all wish you the best of luck against Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 on Sept. 22 and look forward to seeing you add another loss to his record!

The Lianger