Jason Burgos’ Back Talk with Guest Co-Host Jon Fitch

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On the latest edition of Back Talk, Jason Burgos was joined by 18-year mixed martial arts veteran and newly-retired Jon Fitch. During their conversation, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA welterweight contender detailed his decision to hang up his gloves after 43 fights, as well as the nagging neck and spinal issues he competed with during the back half of his career.

“The neck one was probably the worst. It was something I’ve had to deal with for a while. [My] shoulder surgery wasn’t even really the shoulder. It was radiating pain from my neck. I was dealing with it for almost a decade,” Fitch told Sherdog. “I had a number of bulging disks, and I talked to doctors about [having] surgery on it. The bulging discs got bad enough to where I got cortisone shots in them. Before I fought [Joao] Zeferino for the WSOF title, I had to get another cortisone shot for a bulging disc. Yea, there’s a lot of discomfort. I kind of just had to change the way I eat. I changed the supplements I take. I just had to change my lifestyle to make sure that my neck is in a more healthy position, and I’m not compressing the spine and creating more issues. It’s a daily thing. I have to keep stretching my neck [and] keep doing my exercises. It’s just something I’m going to have to do forever.”

Along with explaining why Bellator 246 was the right time to end to his run in the sport, Fitch also talked about many key moments in his career and if he had any regrets in and out of the cage. Also, how Johnny Cash’s song “Rusty Cage” became his go-to entrance music and why the anti-trust lawsuit he is a part of is so important for the future of the industry.