Former No. 1 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight championship contender, Jon Fitch, survived a scare last night (Sat., Oct. 26, 2013) at World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 6, earning a razor-thin split decision over Marcelo Alfaya on NBC Sports.
Fitch -- who was dominated on the ground by Demian Maia and then choked out by Josh Burkman -- was in desperate need of a mixed martial arts (MMA) victory at BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida. It looked ugly early, as Fitch forced telegraphed takedown attempts that Alfaya ultimately used to gain position and threaten with submission attempts for most of the first round.
After a close second stanza, Fitch -- and his vaunted gas tank -- dominated the third and final frame, getting the better of the exchanges on the ground and landing clean punches to Alfaya's exhausted mug. Alfaya -- who missed weight -- was a gigantic 170-pound opponent who simply refused to be finished.
"I was fairly confident I did enough," Fitch said. "I did a lot of damage, a lot of striking, a lot of stuff on top. He was able to control a lot of positions on me, which I wasn't expecting. He was really strong, but I don't think it was enough to win a fight."
Fitch went on to earn a split decision nod from the judges, snapping his first-ever two-fight losing skid and likely setting up a date with Steve Carl -- who submitted Josh Burkman in the main event -- for the promotion's Welterweight title.
For complete WSOF 6: "Burkman vs. Carl" results from last night, including play-by-play coverage of the NBC Sports main card, click here and here.