Mixed martial arts as such arose and formed in the United States of America, and therefore it is not surprising that it was in this state that the brightest stars of this modern sport were born. And in this cohort of fighters, it is especially worth noting John Fitch, which we will talk about in more detail in the article.
Basic data
The athlete was born February 24, 1978 in Indiana, Fort Wayne. The full name of the fighter is Jonotan Parker Fitch. His height is 185 centimeters, and weight ranges from 77 kilograms.
Education
After completing his high school, John Fitch entered Purdue University, located in the athlete’s home state. During his student years, the young man was a member of the university’s wrestling team. His coach was Tom Erickson. Thanks to his mentor, John was able to achieve serious success in this sport and become the captain of the university team. In 2002, the wrestler graduated from high school and received a bachelor's degree in physics.
Due to the fact that Erickson once fought at Pride, he sometimes invited MMA stars such as Harry Goodridge and Mark Coleman, whom Fitch John met, to his training room.
Career
Our hero began performing in mixed martial arts as a professional in 2002. Initially, the fighter fought in the light heavyweight division. Having managed to achieve four victories in the first seven fights, he quickly realized that he needed to learn additional skills in order to be successful in his activity, because only being a universal athlete would he get a chance to gain a foothold in the MMA elite. To do this, Fitch John moved to live in California, the city of San Jose, where the world-famous American Kickboxing Academy is located. Thanks to the new knowledge gained within its walls, the fighter began to progress rapidly and was able to win seven consecutive victories.
Debut in the best league in the world
After some time, Fitch John decided to test his strength in the fighting reality show The Ultimate Fighter. But already at the very last moment, when the athlete loaded his things on the plane, it turned out that he was refused admission to the ranks of the program participants. However, as compensation, the martial artist was offered to fight in the UFC 3 tournament in October 2003. In his debut match for himself in the strongest promotion of the world, John Fitch (a fighter with tremendous experience) defeated Brock Larson. The fight took place in the middle weight.
Welterweight Performances
A talented fighter soon went down a category below. He very quickly began to gain momentum, defeating such strong athletes as Tiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, Josh Burkman, Luigi Fiorovanti. And after defeating Chris Wilson in the UFC 82 tournament, John received the right to become an official contender for the organization’s champion belt. As the head of promotion Dana White said then , Fitch will meet with the winner of the pair of Matt Serra - George Saint-Pierre.
Title fight
At UFC 87, the American lost the decision to the legendary Canadian. After an uncompromising duel, Saint-Pierre noted that this fight gave him a lot in a professional way. Well, if John had won then, he would have managed to surpass Gracie's record, which had eight consecutive wins.
Contract renegotiation
At a certain point, Fitch refused to renew the employment contract with the UFC due to a dispute over the fact that the promotion management planned to use the character of the fighter in a computer game and have a lifetime right to do so. But literally right away, the parties to the conflict managed to reach a compromise, and the fighter put his signature on a new contract. As a result, the athlete was outside the organization for less than a day.
After that, the fighter held a series of successful fights for himself and won against Akihiro Gono, Paulo Tiago, Mike Pierce.
As for personal life, after the UFC 100, John Fitch and his girlfriend named Michelle Kao publicly announced their engagement.
Interesting fact
In November 2008, the fighter became a member of the television show "Mythbuster." The purpose of the episode was to determine whether it is possible to break out of a closed coffin by hitting the lid from the inside. Fitch, lying on his back, struck a pear with a sensor mounted in it from a distance of three inches. The impact force of the athlete was only 1,400 pounds.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the battles of John Fitch were always characterized by spectacularity and drama, for which he was always loved by viewers and commentators.