"[Akihiro Gono] is a very seasoned veteran man. He’s a slick fighter and he knows his way around a fight. He’s been fighting for like 15 years I think. So that is ridiculous. He has had a ton of fights and has only lost a handful of them and has only been finished four times in his career. To be finished four times in 15 years is super impressive. He’s got good leg kicks and kick defense and good wrestling even. His ground game is kind of under rated because he is a good grappler as well. So, he is going to be a tough opponent…. You know I’m not going to let anything outside of the fight [i.e. being on the untelevised prelim portion of the card] itself worry me. I’m there to fight Gono whether it is the main event of the card or the first fight of the night, and whether it is a sold out venue to just ten people in the stands it really doesn’t matter to me. All that other stuff is just outside crap and I am just focused on the fight it’s self and beating Gono and that is all that matters."

-- Former number one welterweight contender Jon Fitch talks to MMANews.com about his upcoming fight against Akihiro Gono at UFC 94: "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, which is scheduled to headline the non-televised under card. Fitch is coming off a five-round unanimous decision loss to 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre in August 2008. It was the main event. He is still among the top players in the division, making his appearance in a preliminary match puzzling.