UFC 141 was the perfect event to end a banner year for the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion. We saw the rise of young new stars with Alexander Gustafsson and Jimy Hettes. Alistair Overeem, Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks fought to make their cases for title contentions. We also witnessed the retirement of one of the biggest draws in MMA, Brock Lesnar. Let's take a look at what may be next for the fighters of UFC 141 in the coming new year.
To be honest, my focus at the time was on the Olympics. I didn’t have any Internet or knew much about anything “mixed martial arts” until I graduated from college. I was 24 years old before I even started training in boxing, jiu-jitsu, or anything. After my last wrestling match where I lost, I was at a crossroads in my life. I had a manager ask me if I wanted to fight for a living, so I prayed about it, and decided why not. I went to Vegas to train and fell in love.
When asked to describe Jon Fitch's fighting style, one word keeps coming up – grinder. A guy that will wear you down with sheer will to get the upper hand and keep it. The skills are there, but almost overshadowed by the grit and determination that is more his calling card. The label also applies to a hockey player with similar grit, what the old-time hockey folks called “lunch bucket” players. The ones that weren't concerned with the flashy plays, but went out there put out their best honest effort and won the battles in workmanlike fashion. “The guys in the trenches” as Don Cherry would say.
It was February when we last saw Jon Fitch fight in the octagon. He fought BJ Penn to a draw at UFC 127 and was expected to fight him again in a rematch, but that bout did not happen due to his shoulder injury.
Jon Fitch's "Road To Recovery" mini-doc's are now over, which means he is cleared to fight again. On Tuesday, Fitch announced via twitter, "I'm back! Dr. Kavitne gave me the OK to fight."
