Mythbuster Fitch Says GSP No 'God'
As great as reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (Pictures) is -- and really, all but a smattering of the sport’s most casual fans know that the MMA superstar is widely considered one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters on terra firma -- at the end of the day, he’s merely a man, not some mythological god.
And men, as opposed to gods, can be bested in battle.
At least that’s how Sherdog top-ranked welterweight challenger Jon Fitch (Pictures), who is facing St. Pierre Saturday in a five-round title bout at UFC 87 in Minneapolis, is mentally approaching the most important fight of his career. Fitch, 30, is a huge underdog, given all but no chance by oddsmakers and most fans.
Such talk doesn’t faze Fitch -- at least outwardly -- but does prompt him to suggest that those aforementioned fans need a serious reality-check when it comes to their lofty perceptions of St. Pierre (16-2-0).
“Everybody has weaknesses,” said Fitch (17-2-0, 1 NC) from his training camp at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. “Nobody’s perfect. Fans have this thing of building mythical gods out of men. So maybe they don’t see a lot of the mistakes that are being made. I’m not going to say what those mistakes are. I’m just hoping to expose them.”
Fitch contended that none of the stress factors that might produce cracks in the mental foundations of other fighters -- his first-ever title shot, fighting the immensely popular, high-profile, top-ranked welterweight in the world, one considered one of the most naturally gifted athletes in the game, even keeping his 15-fight win streak (eight straight in the UFC) alive -- put any additional pressure on him.
“I have a simple task ahead of me and that’s all I’m focusing on and that’s all I care about. All the other stuff just accumulates over time on its own. There’s no need to worry about it or think about it or even have a conscious thought about it,” Fitch said.
To the contrary, he said, to be fighting an opponent as storied as St. Pierre -- once famously hailed by UFC President Dana White as “the future of MMA” -- is a great motivator.
“He’s not just another opponent, but there’s no pressure,” said Fitch, who, while a hugely talented, widely respected fighter who has more than earned his shot at the belt St. Pierre holds, simply goes about his business in a more low-key manner than the French Canadian MMA supernova does. “There’s excitement. Because I thrive to fight the best guys out there. That’s all I want to do. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. So I don’t see it as pressure. I see it as a great opportunity and I’m excited for it.”
One of Fitch’s main men, coach “Crazy” Bob Cook, American Kickboxing Academy’s head MMA trainer, agreed.
“Well, you know, he’s been the underdog throughout the beginning of his UFC career and kinda looks forward to that again,” Cook said. “And is actually, probably a little hungrier than he’s been in his last couple of fights. So it’s actually a positive. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to test himself.”
But AKA owner and head trainer Javier “Thunder” Mendez said that Fitch is absolutely feeling the pressure.
“No, there’s pressure,” said Mendez, a former two-time world champion kickboxer. “Definitely. I mean, you know it’s just natural to have that pressure. If I said no, then you’d know that he’s not really ready for this fight. He’s fighting GSP, who basically most people aren’t giving him much of a chance to do anything (against). But you know, that’s the fans speaking. Not the experts. The experts are prepared to make this fight a little closer than the fans are.”
Besides Cook, Fitch’s other main trainer for the fight is, as usual, AKA mainstay Dave Camarillo, who just last month awarded Fitch his black belt in Guerilla jiu-jitsu, a system Camarillo founded that culls elements of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo and gears them toward mixed martial arts. Fitch also has a boxing coach who, for public consumption, only wants to be known as the mysterious Huitzilan (“He doesn’t want his real name out there,” Mendez said with a shrug). Also helping Fitch train are Mendez (“I’m the fourth guy down on the list,” he said, downplaying his role. “I help him on the pads. I hold a couple times a week for him.”
and AKA kickboxing instructor Derek Yuen, a former IKF national champion.
Fitch said he’s been training about five hours a day, Mondays through Fridays, with Saturdays a lighter day and Sundays off.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are sparring days highlighted by five, five-minute rounds, followed by several rounds of grappling, followed by, in the evenings, cardio work with Cook. Tuesdays and Thursdays are more technical days with muay Thai and boxing drills, followed by heavy grappling and more cardio work on his own.
Mendez said all of Fitch’s trainers are “very happy, very pleased” with Fitch’s training ethic for the St. Pierre fight.
“I would say Jon’s training is going the best so far since he’s been here,” Mendez said. “For this one in particular, he’s better prepared for this fight than for any other fight previous.
“The more time invested in the game has improved him tremendously. And the fact that it’s a five-round fight has also improved him mentally. He’s a gamer. He’s always up for the challenge. He knows exactly what he needs to do and he knows how to go about applying himself mentally and physically to get that job done. Every single one of us is very pleased with his progress. Very pleased.”
Fitch said the only aspect of his training that is different for this fight is preparing for his first-ever five-rounder, though he noted he fought in multi-fight tournaments earlier in his career.
“So there’s a lot of additional training that goes along with a five-round fight,” Fitch said. “That’s the only thing that’s changed much. But yeah, your cardio training almost has to double in order to train for a five-round fight properly. So we’ve definitely picked up the pace there. It was a struggle the first couple weeks of camp, but like right now, yesterday, I sparred five rounds with four different guys and I’m the one wearing them out.
“There’s also a little bit more focus going back to wrestling again, because GSP is probably the best wrestler that I’ve faced in a while. But other than that, my training is pretty much the same. I have a good system that I train with that I’ve had a lot of success with.”
As for his fight night game plan, Fitch is understandably loath to say too much.
“All I can say is that it’s gonna be a fast-paced fight and try not to have any space and just be in his face,” Fitch said. “Not let him dictate the fight with his athleticism.”
Cook noted with some intrigue, “You know, his (St. Pierre’s) last several fights, he’s only been looking to take the fight to the ground. It will be interesting to see whether he’s looking to stand or take it to the ground again.
“Jon’s preparing to fight him everywhere. Jon’s a good wrestler. He just got his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. And he’s been working hard on his jiu-jitsu. So it really doesn’t matter where the fight takes place. He’s prepared to fight him everywhere.”
Mendez concurred, indicating Fitch really can’t look at last year’s St. Pierre/Matt Serra fight at UFC 69, one in which long-shot underdog Serra stopped St. Pierre to become the UFC welterweight champion, as a blueprint for his fight with the French Canadian. St. Pierre returned the favor in the April rematch at UFC 83, stopping Serra and reclaiming his belt.
“Let’s face it, GSP is good in every area,” Mendez said, “so our game plan is to be able to match every area where we need to. You know, there’s really no particular weakness that guy has. You can’t say he’s got a weak chin just cause Serra happened to catch him, right? Anybody on the right spot, they’re going down. GSP is no joke. And if anybody thinks he’s got a weak jaw, they’ve got something else coming, cause it’s yet to be proved he’s got a weak jaw. He just got caught by a guy who’s a really powerful guy. So I don’t buy into that. Forget it, dude. Lightning striking twice? No.
“We have to fight this fight based on the fact that we’re fighting a guy that has skills in every aspect of the game. And we have to be able to adjust to everything he does and let’s see if he can adjust to us.”
While Fitch passed on a prediction, Mendez noted that Fitch wouldn’t have taken the fight if he didn’t think he could win it.
“100 percent,” Mendez said. “And you know what? Anybody who thinks we don’t have a chance at winning this fight or gives any kind of a fair chance of winning, then they don’t really understand Jon Fitch and they don’t really understand MMA and they haven’t been following Jon Fitch because Jon Fitch is 100 percent in this fight and definitely could turn this fight in his favor.”
And in the process, demonstrate to the MMA world that while without question a supremely talented fighter, in the final analysis, George St. Pierre is, like the rest of us, a mere mortal after all.
