Ricardo Almeida vs. Jon Fitch Off UFC 106 After Almeida Injures Knee, Fitch Set For “Bigger Fight”
Ricardo Almeida has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 106 welterweight matchup with Jon Fitch after “blowing out his knee” and the bout has been scratched from the November 21 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.
Fitch announced the news on Twitter earlier today, adding that he’d be getting “a bigger better fight” on a future card instead, but was unable to disclose his new opponent.
Former welterweight champ Matt Hughes fits the bill as a “bigger better” opponent, and he remains without an opponent for his February 6 return to the Octagon at UFC 109. With Fitch’s American Kickboxing Academy teammates Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck keeping the pressure on Hughes to fight someone from the camp, could Fitch be the first AKA fighter to get a bout with the future hall of famer?
Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com to find out Fitch’s next fight as soon as it’s announced.
Pictured: Jon Fitch
Tags: Jon Fitch, Ricardo Almeida
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Jon Fitch will fight Josh Koscheck because of three reasons, 1. They are two of the top contenders for the WW title, 2. If you watched UFC 103 post press conference Dana White said if you and someone else is a contender in a divison you better fight a team member or you will have to wait wait wait for a title fight, it was when Tyson Griffin made Dana White happy. (remember all) 3. The team vs team concept will make a big ratings for the PPV.
too bad that would require both fighters signing the contract…which won’t happen
Or it would require Dana to say one thing: “Sign it or you’re both fired. We need fighters, not boyfriends, and fighters want title shots.”
Funny dbiz. There should be a “NO BOYFRIEND” clause.
can’t fire them for being boyfriends, discrimination laws…
“boyfriends”… I just laughed so hard at that. My Boss is peeking over the top of his computer wondering what about controlling outgoing inventory could possibly be so funny.
Thats a shame. I really don’t want to see Fitch vs. Hughes at all. Whats to gain for Fitch? Nothing. Make him fight Swick for a shot at the title. I don’t care that they are teammates, If you want to be a champion you have to fight everybody any way. Do it now.
I guess it could be Hughes, but I don’t really want to see it, partly because I don’t want to see Hughes lose again.
agreed
I think the aka welterweights calling out matt hughes was some sort of strategy to keep the attention on hughes fighting one of them, and take the attention off of them fighting eachother. And obviously it’s working They HAVE to feel and know on some level that them fighting eachother is @ this point more likely and somewhat inevitable. Especially if they keep winning.
It’s also because hughes would be a “big fight” for any of them simply because it’s matt hughes the future hall of famer and former 9 time ww champ. Would it be a tough fight? well, sure on some level but not really. I have been a lont time hughes fan but like lidell, hughes is on his way out the door and could only pose so many threats before he was muscled to the ground and finished. He barely beat serra for crying out loud. Fitch would take him down and keep him there.
If any aka fighter gets hughes i hope it is fitch only because he was the only fighter to not call out matt hughes keeping his integrity as a fighter.
I honestly don;t want to see Hughes fight Jon Fitch, as much as i think Fitch us overrated he is still a big Welterweight and at this point in Hughes’s career he’ll get cruzhed by someone like Fitch IMO, this would have been a cool fight maybe 2-3 years ago but now i think it would be a one-sided fight in favor of Fitch.
As for AKA “getting their wish”, i still think it’s a pu##y move for all of them to want to fight a Matt Hughes who is on his way out and is not even close to the agressive fighter he once was.
It would be awesome if Fitch fought Koscheck or maybe even Paul Daley even though he’s already booked, but besides Hughes the only other “bigger and better” fight would be Martin Kampmann IMO unless it’s indeed one of the other guys from AKA.
I would love to see Fitch have a rematch with Thiago Alvez because this time around i think Alvez would own him. I’m very curious to see who Fitch will fight next but i’m almost positive that he’ll get Matt Hughes which is a big name fight but IMO Hughes would pose little to zero threat to Fitch simply because Fitch is stronger,younger and way more hungry and determined than Hughes who self admitidly said he is not as hungry or agressive as before, hopefully we get to see teammate vs. teammate.
Fitch v. Daley would not end well for Daley, likely a first round sub.
i think that Paul Daley would get submitted too, but if Fitch would want to stand-up with Daley he’ll get it like Martin Kampann did.
@Marvel, your pretty spot on about most things, but c’mon. Fitch overrated? I beg to differ!
My first thought was Alvez, him and Fitch are clearly the top 2 contenders imo. I’m sure they both want a gsp rematch (although it will be futile!) even tho it wont be rite away (Swick Hardy)and im sure Alvez wants a Fitch rematch but Id say it prolly goes the same way
It still blows my mind when I read statements like, “AKA teammates Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck keeping pressure on Matt Hughes to fight someone from their camp”.
WTF has either Swick or Koscheck done to EARN a fight with a guaranteed Hall of Famer like Hughes?
I have a lot of respect for Jon Fitch, and I honestly believe him to be the second best 170er in the world right now, but some of that respect is diminishing the longer he stays with AKA, and continues his triangular bromance with Swick and Kos.
If Dana is going to buckle under the AKA pressure and give one of their 170ers a fight with Hughes, at least he gave it to the most deserving, Fitch.
Fitch should for his own personal sports integrity find a new training camp, and let Kos, Swick, and guys like Dave Camarillo, Javier Mendez, and Bob Cook, who somehow always seems to avoid catching their fair share of the blame for the fu<ktarded behavior of Swick and Kos, stew in their own juices.
Either that or he ought to ask to speak to Camarillo and Co. and let them know flat out that he's embarrassed by the jackassery of his teammates, and wants them to chill on the sh!t-talking.
I was hoping Dana would resist the temptaion to put an AKA guy in with Hughes, but they keep pushing the issue, and I'm guessing that Dana has not called over to San Jose to tell them to STFU or start looking for their fights on the undercard.
So yeah, I'm sadly thinking that Hughes will get dragged into a fight with Fitch, and it will be a case of bad behavior and poor sportsmanship being rewarded because its easier than smacking a b!tch or two in the mouth when they lose their minds.
The best result, which is highly unlikely, is if Fitch gets schooled by Hughes, and has to go back to AKA with his tail between his legs and explain to his boys what happened…
I personally would love to see fitch fight hughes….fitch hasnt fought a highly ranked WW since his loss to GSP, and since this would be his third fight since GSP it would be timed perfectly IMO. Hughes isnt the fighter he use to be…he is a gatekeeper now. Kos or swick fighting hughes wouldnt be that bad to watch just as long as someone KOed hughes and makes him reconsider retirement. Matt hughes…chuck liddell and rich franklin are all in the same boat IMO, they need to quit now and save some of their pride while there is any left. sux cause i use to love rich and tha iceman but hughes has always been too arrogant and pompus for my liking.
Waitaminute.
I’m following your train of thought when it comes to Hughes and Liddell retiring, but Rich Franklin?
Really?
The guy has fought Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, and Vitor Belfort in the last 12 months, and because he won one fight, lost one fight, and lost what most consider a controverisal split decision, not to mention nearly losing his eye in the process, that constitutes grounds for retirement on Franklin’s part?
2 of those 3 fights were catchweight fights, taken as favors to Dana White, and against Wand Franklin snagged Fight of the Night honors.
How in any sort of reasonable or logical way does that justify anyone calling for Franklin to retire?
You look at Franklin’s record, and his only losses are Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Hendo, and Vitor Belfort, who even Franklin has admitted he wasn’t 100% prepared for.
Maybe you want to think it thru before posting at a site like the frenZy, which has the highest level of MMA fan knowledgability in the sport, something nonsensical and to the effect of “Franklin should retire”…
only way I’d call for franklin to retire is if he took a few more KO’s and started to look like” Franklinstein” instead of the guy we’re used to seeing go balls to the wall.
hey look its hard for me to beleive too about franklin but lets face facts buddy. He was doin OK at 205 but now that this happened with vitor at a catchweight of 195….where does he go now? His only notable wins at 205(since shamrock in 05)are against hammill and lutter. Granted hammill is no joke but hardly a top ten fighter in a very stacked division. So you suggest that franklin remain at LHW and wait to be victimized by another younger, faster, hungier fighter? No….IMO he should just hang it up im sorry I dont see a real future for him at LHW or MW. Unless ace has an ace up his sleeve and can become the inbetweener for any fighters that wanna go up from 185 to 205 or vice versa
“Franklinstein!” I love it.
I love the idea of Fitch vs. Hughes. Fitch is becoming a legend and Hughes is a legend. Make it happen in the Midwest possibly when they come to Indiana for the first time. I think that makes good sense to me! It would make a great co-main event!!!
Yeah fitch continuosly betters his reputation as a fighter and is consistent with his winning ways. I don’t like fitch vs hughes only because it’s not a fight that makes sense and honestly not a true test for fitch especially since fitch is currently considered #2 @ ww. Hughes is a legend and future hall of famer but not in the same stage in his career and youth as fitch is. It would just be another “alves” situation where the younger stronger more evolved fighter is taking on the former champ who’s been around forever.
i was about to say that… Fitch has nothing to gain by defeating Hughes and everything to lose.
Ok it doesn’t make since and shouldn’t happen. I still it would be a fun match to watch. The ufc makes these kinda a matches all the time.
which is why dana and joe silva or anderson silva
need to implement some sort of rankings in each weight class that way there would be no question who are the contenders and why.
Thats why I love the Bellator tournament style championship. Best man wins and moves closer to the belt. Simple yet effective.
And it earns you a nice TV contract with Fox Sports Net and NBC…
Alves Fitch 2 is the one i wanna see.
otherwise it’s gotta be someone that GSP hasn’t beaten, although sure KOS was a while ago now