Unless Jon Fitch is just screwing with us by purposely spreading false information, it seems like he will not be fighting Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106 on November 21. Fitch announced via Twitter that Almeida had injured his knee and been forced to pull out of the bout, so Fitch will get “a bigger, better fight instead.” If you’re wondering how the UFC got a big star to agree to face Fitch on a month’s notice, don’t. Fitch says the bout has been moved to a later date, which flings the door open wide to allow almost any UFC welterweight to walk in. So before we speculate wildly we must ask ourselves: who would Fitch’s fans have wanted to see him fight for a long time?
- Fitch and the other AKA welterweights have wanted a piece of Matt Hughes for a while now. Hughes was never big on the idea, but since he lacks any better ideas the UFC might have prevailed upon him to step up and fight Fitch before the end of the year to justify that new contract and his continued place at the table.
- It isn’t Georges St. Pierre. I mean, it can’t be. Fitch’s last win was a pretty underwhelming decision over a surprisingly tough Paulo Thiago. In order for someone who’s already been a GSP victim once to get another shot, he’d have to make a more impressive case for himself than that.
- Fitch already owns a victory over Thiago Alves, and while “The Pitbull’s” star has risen (then dipped) since then, it’s hardly the fight that anyone is salivating over. It’s hard to imagine Fitch’s fans getting pumped for that one.
- Frank Trigg and Matt Serra would not be big fights for Fitch, so consider them ruled out. Paul Daley just got a high-profile victory in his UFC debut, but something tells us that Fitch’s fans barely know who he is. Dan Hardy is already booked against Mike Swick. Anthony Johnson is fighting at UFC 104 this weekend.
Conclusion? It’s gotta be Hughes. Either that, or Phil Baroni is pulling out of his UFC 106 fight to teach this mamaluke some manners.
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