Fitch Equates his Loss to “Speed” and First Round Damage

If Jon Fitch deserves anything after his whirlwind encounter with "Rush" St. Pierre at Saturday’s UFC 87 in Minneapolis, it’s a ton of respect.

As is evident in the picture to your right, the 30 year old survived 5 brutal rounds of punishment, taking the welterweight champ all the way to the score cards. He didn’t steal the belt but he sure did make an impression on the 15,082 fans in attendance at the Target Center.

Fitch got dropped in the first with a right hand and pounded with some big shots but he regained his composure and hung in there to survive the round. Unfortunately the damage was done and his vision was blurry for the remainder of the fight. In his post fight press conference, Fitch equated the first round damage he suffered as a contributor to his loss.

Pierre’s jabs also played a large role in the overall destruction of Fitch but the main factor in Fitch’s eyes was the speed of "Rush" St. Perre.

I’ve fought stronger guys, but just his hips, his speed, he’s just very fast. Fitch said during his post fight interview.

Fitch stated during the interview that he is going to work with some specific sparring partners that can help increase his speed. His claims that he has fought stronger guys may be true but Pierre was able to take down the former Purdue wrestler at will throughout the fight.

All in all it was a stellar card with a top notch main event between the two best welterweights in the world. For now it’s back to the drawing board for Fitch who will once again resume his climb to the top. For Pierre it looks like his rematch with Penn is just over the horizon. There is already a buzz surrounding the fight which is rumored to be happening in December.

You can check out Fitch’s post fight interview at UFC.com.

Stick around for more colossal MMA news!