The Doggy Bag

What do you think of the UFC switching Jon Fitch out of a fight with Jake Ellenberger to face B.J. Penn at UFC 127? It seems they'll do anything for Fitch to lose one. I think this fight is super close, though, and I'm interested in what you think about Penn's history of training with Dave Camarillo and AKA. Do you think Fitch is a bad opponent for Penn not because of his size and wrestling, but because he has the "inside track" on him due to his coaches?
-- Darren from Toronto

Greg Savage, Fight Week executive producer: I’m not so sure the UFC, and Joe Silva or Dana White in particular, is trying to assure Jon Fitch of his second loss in the promotion, but what I am pretty sure of is they are trying to make sure he has truly earned another title shot before they give it to him. There is a huge logjam at the top of the 170-pound division with Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Thiago Alves and now Penn, who are all lining up for another crack at Georges St. Pierre and as we saw with Fitch-Alves, it’s time for these guys to distinguish themselves by fighting each other.

The odd man out here is Jake Ellenberger, who owns some nice wins after dropping his UFC debut. The stout wrestler had his way with Mike Pyle and John Howard, stopping both of them and was hoping to inch his way into the welterweight title picture only to be shoved aside in favor of Fitch-Penn. And while I do feel bad for him, let’s face it: even if his game is ready, his name is not yet fit for the marquee.

That leaves us with an interesting matchup between one of the most dynamic, if not enigmatic, fighters the sport has ever seen and a fighter who epitomizes the blue collar, lunch pail work ethic.

As for your question about training at American Kickboxing Academy and with common coaches, I really don’t see it being a factor at all. First off, they were never under the same roof at AKA. Penn left well before Fitch showed up in 2003. Secondly, Dave Camarillo wasn’t a coach at AKA when Penn was there and he had not developed into one of the better coaches when their paths crossed as training partners at Ralph Gracie’s academy. At that time they were both focused on jiu-jitsu, MMA was still something off on the horizon.

The only common thread between their stints in San Jose, Calif., are Javier Mendes and Bob Cook. According to them, B.J. is a much different fighter today then he was when he trained under them nearly a decade ago. As Fitch has grown into one of the greatest welterweights in the world -- second only to GSP in my estimation -- Penn has continued to evolve as a fighter, most notably his striking. In the end, I do believe Jon Fitch should be the favorite heading into this bout. He is a natural welterweight who has shown he can use dominant position to control his opponents en route to winning 13 of his 14 Octagon fights. He will have his hands full with Penn though, who is dangerous on his feet and on the ground. I anticipate a great fight no matter who comes out on top.