Jon Fitch changes his tune, will fight 'whoever UFC tells me right now'

Jon Fitch's "Road to Recovery" is finally, mercifully, over.

That means he's been cleared by his doctors to return to full time training, which means he's now just waiting to be matched up with a worthy opponent.

And therein lies the rub. The Fitchster had previously made it clear that he would only accept fight bookings against current or former champions because he didn't want to waste anymore of his time in the cage contesting glorified cans that won't advance his career.

Can't blame him for that.

The issue there is the UFC calender is essentially full, and all the current and former champions in the welterweight division already have dates. Thankfully, though, Fitch has changed his tune and has relaxed his standards for his next opponent.

Here's what he said to NBC Sports:

"Everyone I really want to fight is busy, so I'll fight whoever they tell me right now. Just don't want to wait to fight."

And somewhere, Dana White is smiling ... or nodding approvingly, one or the other.

Fitch was not alone in his want for a big fight against a former top contender. Before settling on his UFC Fight Night 25 main event match-up against Jake Ellenberger, Jake Shields badly wanted to hit the mats with Fitch.

B.J. Penn had also expressed his desire to settle up on their draw from earlier this year but he was eventually placed in a potential number one contender bout against Carlos Condit.

Now that those two are busy and unavailable, that leaves few options for Fitch, who has reached a certain level that very few 170-pound fighters have attained.

So who does that leave for him to fight?

Rory MacDonald has said he will "gladly" hit the Octagon for a showdown against the perennial contender and with the current landscape of the division, that may very well be the case.

Unless you Maniacs have someone else in mind that better suits the bill. Well?