UFC 68 “The Uprising” Undercard Preview
Fitch vs. Fioravanti
Mar 1, 2007
Jon
Fitch (Pictures) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures)
Jon Fitch (Pictures), a former Purdue University wrestler, has a professional MMA record of 12-2. Jon is also a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Dave Camarillo and fights for the American Kickboxing Academy.
Purdue wrestling coach and veteran mixed martial artist Tom Erikson (Pictures) first introduced Fitch to the
sport. "Big Cat" would train
with the likes of Mark
Coleman (Pictures) and Kevin Randleman (Pictures), and Fitch took part in the
training.
Jon began fighting MMA professionally in 2002 and made the rounds of the local Midwest MMA shoes, including HOOKnSHOOT and Shooto USA. Fitch won an eight-man MMA Mexico tournament, stopping all three opponents while sick with mononucleosis. (This included wins over Jorge Ortiz (Pictures) and Alex Sedyukov.)
Fitch is a patient fighter and keeps it simple. If the opportunity to choke someone presents itself, he'll take it. But more often than not he'll try to take his victims out on the feet with strikes.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) is 10-1 in MMA and trains with the American Top Team. Originally training with the Gracie Barra Orlando camp with UFC veteran Paul Rodriguez, Fioravanti made the move to ATT and is now coached by Ricardo Liborio (Pictures).
The ex-Marine (served in Desert Storm) has a record of 2-1 in the Octagon and makes his debut at welterweight. Fioravanti first appeared in the UFC against Chris Leben (Pictures), who had stopped three of his last four opponents in the first round. At the time Fioravanti looked like just another victim for "The Crippler." Luigi took some big shots from Leben but his ground game kept him alive and he went the distance against the former contender.
In his return to the cage, Fioravanti knocked out Solomon Hutcherson in the first round. Fioravanti won his first bout at 170 pounds with an impressive stoppage of former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne (Pictures) last December. Luigi has heavy hands and solid footwork, so the move down to 170 should sharpen his tools in the cage.
Fitch was quite upset that he didn't make the main card for the pay-per-view and given his undefeated UFC record he has an argument. Given his penchant for stopping opponents with strikes, Jon will need to use superior movement and be more technical on the feet with the jiu-jitsu fighter.
Fioravanti looked vulnerable in the clinch with Leben and it could be the area Fitch capitalizes on. Going to the ground could only complicate things unless Fitch can quickly establish side-mount and stop his opponent with a little ground-and-pound. I see Fitch showing the cleaner skills and beating Fioravanti to the punch, taking the victory late in the bout with strikes on the feet.
Jon Fitch (Pictures), a former Purdue University wrestler, has a professional MMA record of 12-2. Jon is also a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Dave Camarillo and fights for the American Kickboxing Academy.
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Jon began fighting MMA professionally in 2002 and made the rounds of the local Midwest MMA shoes, including HOOKnSHOOT and Shooto USA. Fitch won an eight-man MMA Mexico tournament, stopping all three opponents while sick with mononucleosis. (This included wins over Jorge Ortiz (Pictures) and Alex Sedyukov.)
Fitch made his Octagon debut against Brock Larson (14-1) and handed
Larson the only loss of his professional career. He won all three
of his fights in 2006, including victories over Josh Burkman (Pictures) and Thiago Alves (Pictures).
Fitch is a patient fighter and keeps it simple. If the opportunity to choke someone presents itself, he'll take it. But more often than not he'll try to take his victims out on the feet with strikes.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) is 10-1 in MMA and trains with the American Top Team. Originally training with the Gracie Barra Orlando camp with UFC veteran Paul Rodriguez, Fioravanti made the move to ATT and is now coached by Ricardo Liborio (Pictures).
The ex-Marine (served in Desert Storm) has a record of 2-1 in the Octagon and makes his debut at welterweight. Fioravanti first appeared in the UFC against Chris Leben (Pictures), who had stopped three of his last four opponents in the first round. At the time Fioravanti looked like just another victim for "The Crippler." Luigi took some big shots from Leben but his ground game kept him alive and he went the distance against the former contender.
In his return to the cage, Fioravanti knocked out Solomon Hutcherson in the first round. Fioravanti won his first bout at 170 pounds with an impressive stoppage of former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne (Pictures) last December. Luigi has heavy hands and solid footwork, so the move down to 170 should sharpen his tools in the cage.
Fitch was quite upset that he didn't make the main card for the pay-per-view and given his undefeated UFC record he has an argument. Given his penchant for stopping opponents with strikes, Jon will need to use superior movement and be more technical on the feet with the jiu-jitsu fighter.
Fioravanti looked vulnerable in the clinch with Leben and it could be the area Fitch capitalizes on. Going to the ground could only complicate things unless Fitch can quickly establish side-mount and stop his opponent with a little ground-and-pound. I see Fitch showing the cleaner skills and beating Fioravanti to the punch, taking the victory late in the bout with strikes on the feet.
