Will Jon Fitch Avenge Teammate Josh Koscheck's Loss to Paulo Thiago at UFC 100?

MMAMania talks to Fitch about his opponent at the next UFC:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your next opponent is Paulo Thiago at UFC 100. He’s still a bit of a mystery at this point. What do you know about him as far as his strengths and weaknesses?

Jon Fitch: He’s scrappy. That’s the biggest thing about him. He’s a really scrappy guy. He can come in at different angles than you’re used to. He can do things he’s really not supposed to and still get away with it. I have to be very careful and very tight with my technique and keep some good pressure on him but I can’t get into that risk game.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your teammate Josh Koscheck fought him at UFC 95. Has he helped you out a lot as far as what you can expect to see from Paulo?

Jon Fitch: We couldn’t really get much out of that fight. It was a short fight. Koscheck was doing a good job and winning the fight up until he got caught. You can’t learn a lot from it but we we’re able to catch some videos of him and see some other fights and get a perspective of what he’s about.

Fitch is right that we really didn't learn much about Thiago from that fight. He was seemingly being dominated on his feet by Koscheck before landing the big KO punch. It reminds me very much of Fedor vs Arlovski. Like Andrei, Koscheck came out and dominated most of the opening round with better striking technique and scored repeatedly with strikes while taking no damage. Then mistakes were made and some dudes got themselves KTFO'd.

Obviously Paulo Thiago is no Fedor, but he's clearly a fighter you have to respect.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): If you’re fortunate enough to get past Paulo do you feel like that will be enough to earn you another title shot against the Georges St. Pierre/Thiago Alves winner?

Jon Fitch: I might need another fight. Thiago and GSP are fighting the same night. I’d like to fight again sooner than probably they’re going to be ready to after that fight. It depends on the bosses and what they say. I know that I need at least one or two more impressive wins, not just normal victories, and I know I’ll put myself right back into a title shot.

Fitch says he doesn't have a preference between GSP and Alves, but the fact remains, he's fought both men and GSP put a beating on him. Alves, on the other hand, Fitch flat-out mauled. He's got to be rooting for the dangerous Brazilian striker in that UFC 100 fight because he's got an excellent claim on a very quick title shot if Alves is the champ. If it's GSP, Fitch can look forward to watching GSP vs Anderson Silva and maybe 2 welterweight title defenses before he gets close to getting a shot.

UFC 100 coverage