Earlier we discussed the fact that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to see some GSP vs. Jon Fitch 2 action, but as everyone knows, that bout isn’t going to happen anytime soon. As we posted this AM, not only is it looking like the winner of next Saturday’s bout between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley could coach on TUF 12 and fight St. Pierre afterwards, Mr. Fitch has a previous rematch engagement with Thiago Alves. 

Now unless you’ve only become fascinated with caged violence more recently (the MMA recruits continue to file in after watching Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia last weekend), then you’re familiar with the knowledge that Alves had been scheduled to rematch Fitch at UFC 111, until a pre-fight scan revealed an irregularity in his brain, cancelling the fight. There was a lot of understandable concern; a ton of coverage, and yadda, yadda, yadda, Alves is ready to throw down again.

According to a report from MMA Fighting today, however, although Alves is fine, the UFC has decided to weigh on the side of caution and has moved the Alves / Fitch rematch to August 7^th at UFC 117 (expected to take place in Oakland), instead of holding it at UFC 115 in June. The MMA Fighting report included a text from UFC head honcho Dana White which stated:

“Making sure Alves is 1000 percent healthy,” White replied via text.

Fair enough. So, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen and Alves vs. Fitch II, looks like Oakland could be in for a good night.

Dana White recently decreed that the days of teammates refusing to fight each other are “over,” comments that came after another tit for tat with Jon Fitch, who continues to annoy the UFC boss man by refusing to fight AKA training partner Josh Koscheck. This is a doozy of an issue; no question. Some fighters aren’t able to distance themselves emotionally from inflicting bodily harm on their buddy, while from a fan’s perspective (which at the end of the day puts dolla, dolla bills in the virtual wallets of Zuffa and the fighters) if teammates never fight, some pretty sweet bouts will never happen.

One of the latest fighters to weigh in on this issue is Jon “Bones” Jones, who while speaking on MMA Scraps Radio (thanks to MMA Bay for the quote), had this to say about possibly fighting his teammate, Rashad Evans.

“I guess I would for a million dollars. We spar together every day so I mean for a million dollars I guess we could put the 4-ounces on. Friendship is way more valuable than the money… These guys have opened my eyes up how to train as a pro-athlete and so it would just be wrong to use all that against them.”

Interesting way of looking at it. Friendship is more important than money, but, not if it’s a million dollars or…? No we get it; there’s a valid point here, if you are going to endanger your friend’s health, it better be a situation where you can at least buy him a brand new ride after.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, while rattling on and on with each post, is that many of us here at MMA Fix have a remarkable ability to be wrong (no effin kidding right?). Case in point, last week when Thiago Alves announced the good news that he had undergone successful surgery and was looking at UFC 114 to make his return, we figured that the rematch with Jon Fitch (which had been cancelled at UFC 111 due to Thiago’s condition) “probably won’t happen” this soon. Thankfully we were wrong.

Last night UFC President Dana White posted this doozy of a ‘tweet’ on his official Twitter page:

ALVES vs FITCH in vancouver!!!!

Awesome. Totally awesome; to use the immortal words of  Jeff Spicoli. We were damn disappointed when the Alves / Fitch rematch didn’t go down on Mar. 27^th, but, thankfully we won’t have to wait too long to see it June 12^th.  Fitch appeared to emerge from his dominant UD win over Ben Saunders unscathed (what else is new?) and clearly, news of the bout with Alves only confirms it. Really, this fight makes the most sense, Alves has asked to rematch Fitch consistently over the years, while Fitch with a 12-1 Octagon record, is quickly running out of notable dudes to fight. Plus, this way White and AKA nicely side step the whole ‘I don’t care that you’re bestest buddies, punch him in the face’ drama for a few months.

One of the fascinating things about MMA is that sometimes good buddies have to get in the cage and, well, brutalize the other dude’s face. For example, although apparently Clayton McKinney and Charley Lynch are good friends, McKinney ended up erasing part of Lynch’s nose to earn a spot in the TUF house. In other words, it’s not like bowling where the worst thing you could do to your pal, is knock his beer over while getting up to take your next shot (although that could theoretically lead to fisticuffs…)

Thus, this is why the issue of fighting friends and teammates continues to be such a polarizing one in MMA, particularly for promoters like Dana White, who don’t want awesome fights punted because training partners refuse to fight each other. Now although the UFC Boss Man has got into it with other teams over this issue, White continues to get really annoyed with top welterweights Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, who won’t fight due to their American Kickboxing Academy status / friendship. You may recall that White didn’t really care for Fitch’s recent remarks about the two fighting “behind closed doors.”

 Anyways, it sounds like White is reaching his boiling point on this (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quote).

“It’s over man,” White said. “This whole ‘we won’t fight each other’ thing is over. How long can they go on when they have two of the top guys in the division and they won’t fight each other?”

Wow. This could get messy.

By now even ‘I only watch Chuck Liddell fight’ fans are aware of the fact that Thiago Alves underwent successful surgery this week in NYC, to correct the irregularity in his brain that punted his scheduled UFC 111 rematch with Jon Fitch (some ‘I only watch Matt Hughes fight’ fans could still be in the wilderness hunting and thus remain unaware). Well, more good news has surfaced this AM as according to a ‘tweet’ from Alves, the punishing fighter has checked out of hospital and is headed back to Florida.

Leaving the hospital going back back to fll! 114 its looking good!!! I’m back soo happy thanks God! And all u guys! Osu!

Crazy. To think last week the MMA world was temporarily concerned about Alves and his future in the sport, and just days later we find out he wants to throw down on May 29^th. Who says technological progress is a bad thing?

Now the question that begs to be asked; any chance Fitch could be ready for UFC 114? It probably won’t happen, but the AKA stud didn’t appear to get injured in his dominant UD win over Ben Saunders (although his rep took more hits as he continues to draw fire for not finishing fights- seems like a common theme lately). Fitch clearly wants another crack at St. Pierre, but Dana White isn’t exactly falling over himself to confirm that fight is he?

Unless you’ve been ignoring the internet the last couple of days, trying to show it who’s really in charge, you’re probably fully aware of the fact that Ben Saunders will now fight Jon Fitch Saturday, instead of his American Top Team buddy, Thiago Alves. It’s a ballsy move stepping up to fight a dude like Fitch. This is a guy who has gone 11-1 in the Octagon, and for the most part, the wrestler turned fighter has had very few difficulties with most of the opponents he’s faced.

Of course, this is precisely why Saunders was eager to toss scheduled opponent, Jake Ellenberger, to the side; Ellenberger’s a bad ass (and probably an under-rated fighter), but he doesn’t have the resume of Fitch. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Saunders offered these comments, as to why he was quick to dial up Dana White and inform the UFC boss man ‘let’s do this.’

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “I saw it there, and I had to jump on it.”

Plus, remember, Fitch stopped Alves in 2006, so…

“I’m looking to get a little ATT payback on a friendly competitive level,” Saunders said. “Nothing personal.”

Fair enough. With great risk comes great reward no? As for Ellenberger, he gets his win and show money which is nice, but here’s hoping for his sake that he doesn’t end up fight less for another 4 months.  To bet on UFC 111 head here.

This coming Saturday’s welterweight clash between Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves may be getting lost a little bit in the mix, which isn’t too surprising, considering that the UFC 111 card also features 2 title fights. Really, when you look at the resume of either Alves or Fitch, it’s a bout that could easily headline a Fight Night card or be a co-main event on a PPV.

Of course, aside from the fact that both Alves and Fitch are at the top of the welterweight rankings, the big storyline behind this fight (and what’s a fight without a little drama heading into it) is that Fitch stopped Alves back in June, 2006 (it’s scary to think that for some UFC fans that’s nearly one quarter of their life ago- damn we’re getting old).

At any rate, Alves has been calling for another shot at Fitch for some time now, and naturally, the American Top Team fighter is promising that things are going to be different this time around. While speaking to Tatame.com, Alves had this to say, when asked about his evolution as a fighter over the last few years.

“I think I was too young when we fought. Not on sport, but on UFC, this American system of weight lost… Now I’m a different fighter, I’ve learned a lot, I fight better Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu… It couldn’t be a better time. I’m coming from a defeat and I want to be back to winner’s list. Beating him I’ll fight for the belt again.”

In the interview Alves also talks further about Fitch, GSP vs. Dan Hardy, and Paulo Thiago.  A trifecta of huge bouts this Saturday. To bet on any of them head here.

Recently, we’ve talked about the fact that talk regarding the upcoming March 27th welterweight title fight between champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Dan Hardy, hasn’t exactly been burning up the internet. With the bout now just a few weeks away, perhaps this will change, especially if Hardy continues to get opportunities to share his ‘gift for gab.’

Case in point, today This is Nottingham has posted an article from Hardy himself, where he talks about being in the spotlight (ok maybe it’s getting brighter), filming prefight coverage for the UFC, as well as, his critics like Josh Koscheck, who have publicly decried the UFC’s decision to give the British slugger a title shot. In fact, Hardy’s post is so full with ‘oh snap’ and ‘oh no he didn’t’ goodness, we were hard pressed to pick just one quote.  (Thanks to MMA Bay for the tip) Here’s a couple:

“I am very amused Josh Koscheck is still bitching his lungs out that he deserves a title shot, not me. British fans will know Koscheck as the Fraggle-haired guy who got sparked out in one round in London a year ago, (to Paulo Thiago) only to take his loss out on an innocent chair backstage, scoring a split decision points win over the unsuspecting piece of furniture.”

Wow. Now Paul Daley was the first (we believe) to use the ‘fraggle’ bit, but he and Hardy are buddies, so borrow away…Hardy also ‘takes a piss’ at Jon Fitch (who apparently hasn’t improved according to Hardy) , Mike Swick, in fact, the entire AKA team. Yup, this is going to get interesting.

In an interesting story posted on MMA Junkie today, American Kickboxing Academy teammates Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez apparently disagree as to whether or not jiu-jitsu’s hallowed closed guard, is an effective position any longer to end a fight in modern MMA. Fitch told Fox Fight Game recently (and we’re paraphrasing here in our own colorful manner), that unless you’re submission wizards like Demian Maia and Shinya Aoki, forget about working for subs from the guard as dudes like Chael Sonnen will beat the living hell out of you.

Now, Velasquez is heading into a bout with “Minotauro” Nogueira, a guy who knows a thing or two about brutalizing an opponent’s body and or consciousness from the guard. When asked to share his thoughts on Fitch’s recent claim that essentially the closed guard has passed on, Velasquez reportedly said:

“I don’t believe that,” Velasquez said. “I believe everyone’s dangerous, especially Nogueira on the ground.”

Yes, a wisely chosen response Mr. Rising Contender; the last thing you would want to do is tell the world that ‘you’ll retire if you ever get tapped out from the guard,’ only to have Big Nog slap on one of his patented triangle chokes.

The sport’s evolving, soon guys are going to be turning pro that learned to pass the guard before they could walk, or drilled rubber guard every recess throughout elementary school. That’s some scary sh-t.

To bet on Velasquez vs. Nogueira head here.

There was a time when news confirming that two of the UFC’s best welterweights were going to throw down, would drop the productivity of hardcore MMA fans working that day to less than our interest in seeing “Valentine’s Day” starring Ashton Kutcher. But now in this new era of totally awesome MMA saturation (and no we’re not being sarcastic), today’s confirmation by the UFC that Jon Fitch will toss leather with Thiago Alves for a second time at UFC 111, might actually get lost in the mix. After all, the March 27^th card is already set to feature a welterweight title fight between GSP vs. Dan Hardy, as well as Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight strap.

All this aside, we’re pretty damn excited about seeing this bout, as should you be. Fitch continues to be arguably the UFC’s best welterweight who isn’t named St. Pierre; aside from his August, 2008 decision loss to the champ, the guy has gone 11-1 in the Octagon. If anyone is in position to diss Hardy’s title shot, Mr. Fitch certainly could be the frontrunner.

Alves has always talked publicly about his desire to rematch Fitch; the “Pitbull” lost by TKO to Fitch in June, 2006, but since then the ATT fighter has blown out notables like Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan, in addition to earning a UD win over Fitch’s buddy and teammate Josh Koscheck. Thiago’s yet another welterweight beast who couldn’t get past GSP…

And in case you’re wondering, yes, the bout is scheduled to be on the televised portion of the card. Some things are just meant to be…