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03-28-2010 08:15 AM:
The storm has been brewing for a while. UFC president Dana White simply does not understand why teammates in the same weight class won't fight one another. The trio of welterweights from American Kickboxing Academy -- Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch -- have vowed to never fight each other. It's something that annoys White so when Fitch started stating his case for a rematch against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, the prez went on the attack.
"There's nothing more important to me than fighting for the title. I'm 12-1 in the UFC with one loss to GSP. I'm a better fighter than the first time we fought. And I want a title shot," said Fitch during the postfight press conference for UFC 111.
White responded by suggesting that Fitch should fight Koscheck next. When Fitch was asked if he was open to fighting his teammate for the No. 1 spot, he quickly said no.
"I guess he doesn't want the title shot that badly," said a smiling White.
Fitch joked that if the fight has to happen it'll be behind closed doors at the gym. White joked, "that'll make a lot of money."
White expanded on the whole teammate issue after the press conference.
"We're all friends and [expletive]," said White. "Like Jon said 'I want that title so bad.' Really? How bad do you want it?"
Because of their reluctance to fight one another, White also said it's a possibility both Koscheck and Fitch could get passed over for the next shot at GSP.
"There's no reason two guys can't go out and compete against each other to see who's better. It's over man, this whole 'we don't want to fight each other thing.' How long can it go on when you've got two top guys in the same division and they won't fight each other?"
All three AKA fighters have been ranked in the top 10 at 170 for much of the last two years. But since they won't fight each other they've had to face guys much lower in the rankings. Swick and Koscheck have both been victims of upsets and temporarily lost their shot at St. Pierre. Meanwhile, Fitch (22-3, 12-1 UFC) has looked lackluster against some lesser names. St. Pierre and Fitch squared off at UFC 87 with the Canadian picking up a lopsided win by decision.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
The storm has been brewing for a while. UFC president Dana White simply does not understand why teammates in the same weight class won't fight one another. The trio of welterweights from American Kickboxing Academy -- Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch -- have vowed to never fight each other. It's something that annoys White so when Fitch started stating his case for a rematch against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, the prez went on the attack.
"There's nothing more important to me than fighting for the title. I'm 12-1 in the UFC with one loss to GSP. I'm a better fighter than the first time we fought. And I want a title shot," said Fitch during the postfight press conference for UFC 111.
White responded by suggesting that Fitch should fight Koscheck next. When Fitch was asked if he was open to fighting his teammate for the No. 1 spot, he quickly said no.
"I guess he doesn't want the title shot that badly," said a smiling White.
Fitch joked that if the fight has to happen it'll be behind closed doors at the gym. White joked, "that'll make a lot of money."
White expanded on the whole teammate issue after the press conference.
"We're all friends and [expletive]," said White. "Like Jon said 'I want that title so bad.' Really? How bad do you want it?"
Because of their reluctance to fight one another, White also said it's a possibility both Koscheck and Fitch could get passed over for the next shot at GSP.
"There's no reason two guys can't go out and compete against each other to see who's better. It's over man, this whole 'we don't want to fight each other thing.' How long can it go on when you've got two top guys in the same division and they won't fight each other?"
All three AKA fighters have been ranked in the top 10 at 170 for much of the last two years. But since they won't fight each other they've had to face guys much lower in the rankings. Swick and Koscheck have both been victims of upsets and temporarily lost their shot at St. Pierre. Meanwhile, Fitch (22-3, 12-1 UFC) has looked lackluster against some lesser names. St. Pierre and Fitch squared off at UFC 87 with the Canadian picking up a lopsided win by decision.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
