UFC 107: Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce booked with Thiago Alves hurt
by Jesse Holland on Oct 31, 2009 5:21 PM EDT
43 comments
The third time will hopefully be the charm for Jon Fitch (19-3) now that up-and-coming welterweight Mike Pierce (10-1) has agreed to step up and face him at UFC 107 from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.
Pierce was originally slated to meet Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 20 until "Kos" was promoted to the UFC 106 co-main event opposite Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.
Like Pierce, Fitch was left without an opponent when Ricardo Almeida injured his knee and withdrew from their UFC 106 bout on Nov. 21. Zuffa worked a little magic and booked him in a rematch of former number one welterweight contenders opposite Thiago Alves on Dec. 12; however, "Pitbull" also went down with a knee injury and was forced to bow out.
Fitch returned to the Octagon at UFC 100 to exact revenge against submission specialist Paulo Thiago, taking the contest via unanimous decision. The Brazilian stunned his good friend and American Kickboxing Academy training partner, Josh Koscheck, with a fight-ending first round uppercut at UFC 95: "Sanchez vs. Stevenson" earlier this year.
The Purdue University wrestler now boasts 10 victories for the promotion in 11 attempts. The lone blemish on his record is to welterweight deity Georges "Rush" St. Pierre in their championship match from UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" in Aug. 2008.
And the competition isn’t getting any easier.
Pierce recently stunned quite a few fans in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 19, registering a convincing unanimous decision over the super tough Brock Larson. It was just the third loss in Larson’s impressive career. And it marked six straight wins for the surging Pierce.
Despite his recent success, Pierce will no doubt be a heavy underdog on fight night when he gets locked inside the cage opposite the 11-fight UFC veteran.
UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion, BJ Penn, defending his title against number one division contender, Diego Sanchez. In the co-featured fight of the night, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir will "begin his quest for a third title" when he takes on Cheick Kongo.
To check out the latest UFC 107 fight card and rumors click here.
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Pierce, although a huge underdog, is a viable opponent for Fitch. Pierce will probably try to stand and trade leather with Fitch. Fitch, unless Pierce’s heavy bombs get through, will probably oblige his opponent. It looks like a winner on the December card!
by Bobby Light on Oct 31, 2009 5:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i am not interested with anyone fighting fitch. fitch could beat batman and he still would get owned by GSP…their first fight was such a beatdown..fitch has nothing that could come close to beating gsp
by newfie on Oct 31, 2009 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He gave GSP one of his toughest fights period. After the Alves and GSP fight GSP said Fitch so far has been his toughest challenge to date.
by Beaver on Oct 31, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
MMA News***
strikeforce has officially signed Dream Welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis to a multi-fight deal.
Sexyama and Okami are now training at Extreme couture
Anderson vs. Vitor will not happen on January 2nd.
Demien Maia is now training his boxing with Minotauro!
by john G on Oct 31, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What the hell are you talking about Beaver?? Tough fight? GSP beat the ever-loving crap out of him for 5 round. Not coincidentally, it was the only interesting fight Fitch has ever been involved in. Pierce, get ready for a 30-27 decision loss and a sore taint/hump region.
by PW on Oct 31, 2009 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree that the GSP – Fitch fight was his biggest challenge although Fitch did get the beat down of his life. Fitch is a dangerous fighter.
Ignore PW – he has posters of JB Penn in his bedroom.
by deadgrassinyard on Nov 1, 2009 7:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It may have been Fitch’s biggest challenge, but it was no challenge at all for GSP. He was never even close to being in danger in that fight. I would agree that is was probably the most courageous effort that GSP has ever faced in his career, but it was hardly a challenge to GSP. Unfortunately, Fitch is the next toughest Welterweight in the UFC, and is the obvious #1 Contender….which just proves how big the gap is between GSP and the rest of the WW division. Someone needs to step up, or GSP will need to go to 185 if we want to see anything that’s unpredictable. The only WW i can see that would be even remotely interesting would be if Jake Shieds came over from Strikeforce, and I think GSP would take care of him in short order as well.
by kg on Nov 1, 2009 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
UFC shoulda re-formed this for Fitch-AJ and Pierce-Kos
by Synyster on Nov 1, 2009 10:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
AJ is not ready for Fitch yet. He won’t pass thru Kos easily. In fact I see Kos getting an UD. Though I don’t think that Pierce is ready for Fitch either. Anything can happen but Larson and Fitch aren’t in the same league(figure of speach).
by Alpha Male on Nov 1, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
If Piere can LNP Fitch then the universe might implode. AJ-fitch is actually a terrible matchup IMO. Fitch is nowhere near the athlete that AJ is and doesn’t have the speed to contend with him. Yes he has a million technical advantages but we saw GSP landing over and over on him. With AJ’s power, i don’t think he would need to land to many shots before fitch can get him down. Kos might have a more suspect chin but he can nullify those two things that AJ has and force him to work a different gameplan, work different skillsets besides his crazy sprawl. Then again Fitch has been trashing great, more athletic WW for the better part of this decade so who knows.
by NameNotRequired on Nov 1, 2009 1:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m gutted about the Andy-Vitor news, right now MMA is depressing me. Hopefully being at a live event and seeing an exciting SF show will cheer me up because all I ever seem to read is bad news i.e. fights getting cancelled, poor decisions or top fighters retiring.
As for this fight I don’t really care at all about it, Fitch-Alves II was a sick fight, Fitch-Pierce is a guaranteed decision where the better wrestler will come out on top. Pierce is obviously a very good wrestler if he can control Larson for 15 minutes so he will be a test for Fitch but that doesn’t make for an exciting fight.
by David W-S on Nov 1, 2009 2:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
To be honest i don’t think this fight should happen…. Alves Fitch 2 should happen as a Co-main event down the road.. two of the top WW giong at it again… Fitch fighting this guy could only be bad news cuz we may never see Alves Fitch go at it again
by Ricky on Oct 31, 2009 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
this has boring written all over it seeing how i heard his fight with larson was basically him LNPing
and then you throw Fitch into it lol
by nelson on Oct 31, 2009 5:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
lol,funny if another knee injury causes another fight cancellation,and im pissd about machida v rua 2 at 108,with silva v belfort,evans v thiago,carwin v lesnar and more,108 would have been stacked :(
by Hot Lil Whore on Oct 31, 2009 5:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lay and Pray! Lay and Pray! Lay and Pray! Fitch is my favorite fighter he is so exciting! Grrr Fitch Grrr! That thing he does with is mouth is so cool! Go Fitch! Go Lay and Pray! Yea Explosive action and excitement Yea!
by The Dude on Oct 31, 2009 5:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
one of the top five least funny things ive ever read…
by magicmike on Oct 31, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
what’s that magic mike? Couldn’t understand you with Fitch’s dick in your mouth. 9 out of 10 people agree Fitch is lame; as are you.
by The Dude on Oct 31, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was amusing, not really LOL funny, but right on the mark. Fitch sucks.
by PW on Oct 31, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
here, try this one. Your dad walks into whorehouse, says, “Honey I’m home”
by The Dude on Oct 31, 2009 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i think its stupid to waste a comment telling somone there not funny, but im thinking this guy is around 12 years old with his insults..
by guyverbob on Oct 31, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ok see that was better…i wasnt saying anything about the fight i was just commenting on the lack of humor in what you said…but to actually talk about the fight, fitch doesnt suck by any stretch of the imagination but ill give it to you that he is generally real boring…something tells me hes gonna stand and bang with pierce though idk why
by magicmike on Oct 31, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fitch got SCREWED. From easy name fight to much tougher no-name.
by frosnt1 on Oct 31, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
the battle of two of the only 3 people to beat larson! thats how they can hype this fight!
by Jared on Oct 31, 2009 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is a good fight for Pierce. Why? Cause he is extremely cocky and arrogant. This should put him in his place by the beating he is going to take.
by bluepit on Oct 31, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sounds like a win for Fitch. Pierce might be tough, but Fitch is on another level. Expect Fitch to take him down and pound him out. Should be interesting and it’s really the only fight that could be scheduled. I hate injuries.
by n4tacon on Oct 31, 2009 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
he goes from Almeida to Alves to Pierce LOL
by nelson on Oct 31, 2009 5:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
you’ve really been paying attention havent you?
by newfie on Oct 31, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
so sick of fuckin injuries..its bullshit kinda making things boring when set fights are set ..might as well jus announced da fights a week b4 so we kno there wont be any injury replacements
by dicksdkafjkls on Oct 31, 2009 6:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
its gonna be a cold winter for the ufc, if bj or diego gets hurt they will have NO exciting fights until march
by sac165 on Oct 31, 2009 6:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
besides kimbo vs houstan alexander of course haha
by sac165 on Oct 31, 2009 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It’s hilarious how so many people still see a “big name” fighting a “no name” and expect a guarantee’d win. Welcome to MMA whers GSP loses to Serra. This guy has every chance of beating Fitch and I will laugh when he does.
by oskarbravo on Oct 31, 2009 7:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Where does everyone assume it’s a guaranteed win?
by jj on Oct 31, 2009 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
well he lost to serra so what he can beat shit fitch and pierce any day
by xxxx on Nov 1, 2009 8:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Unless Fitch fights a big name, I have no interest in seeing it. UFC is putting some weird shit together lately
by Poopybum on Oct 31, 2009 8:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I really, really, really wanted to see Fitch/Alves 2. Depending on how long Alves is out they should have Fitch wait for him. The rematch would sell huge as a co-main event.
by pwilson on Oct 31, 2009 9:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
why not john howard, or johnny hendricks? I can’t believe that tard joe silva would give pierce this fight! Watch pierce vs. larson and decide for yourself. God this pisses me off
by the immaculate fix on Oct 31, 2009 9:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Man, I never thought of an Alves Fitch rematch and then they signed it and I thought about it and got pumped. Now the only thing good about this fight for me is rooting for the underdog. I don’t care for Fitch, don’t like him, don’t hate him. He’s just, well, there. I know he’s a great fighter and should destroy this guy. This match is such a letdown. Go Pierce! Shock the world!
by Yo Mammas Chin Whiskers on Oct 31, 2009 11:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
ufc ww’s need some new blood… strikeforce keeps looking better each day
by Nick Diaz 209 on Nov 1, 2009 12:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The real loser here is fitch. Unfortunately for him a win over pierce will still leave unanswered questions. Pierce is going to be a huge underdog due to lack of experience. But he could pull an upset and catapult him into the picture, causing fitch to drop in the rankings in dramatic fashion. Lose-lose for Jon. Kinda sucks to be him on this one.
Ps talking about injuries etc, and weak cards?
Dream 11 & 12 were both better than UFC 103, 104, 102 combined. And dream 12 had the best production value out of any mma event i’ve ever seen! Its so nice to see all these guys recent bouts and accomplishments put to well placed music, and very well camera’d and placed right before their fights. Extremely well done.
If it weren’t for the fact they fight across seas and the whole language barrier, I truly think they would be a much bigger force over here. Dream wil move to the cage more often then they thought now I assume. It was very well received & an amazing card.
For all those who didn’t see it, I really recommend catching a replay on HD net or something. Very worth the time.
by Daniel worby on Nov 2, 2009 10:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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