From left - Joe Tizzano, Jim Fitzpatrick Jim Miller, Brian McLaughlin - Photo by William McKee
Jim Fitzpatrick after win at lightweight: “145 is obviously where I think I belong”
Jim Fitzpatrick made his return to the cage this past Friday night after three years away from active competition.
The second-round TKO finish over Will Dill at Art of War Cage Fighting 22 did not come easy, and Fitzpatrick came to terms with the fact that his normal fighting weight of 145-pounds might be the better answer for him going forward.
Fitzpatrick stepped up to the lightweight challenge after Trent Stump, Dill’s original opponent fell off the card due to injury. “Fitz” answered the call on exactly one week’s notice, even making the move to 155-pounds.
While the 33-year-old New Jersey native was able to stop his opponent in the second frame, Fitzpatrick spent more time on his back than he would have liked.
Dill said that he had to cut more than 20-pounds during fight week to get down to 155-pounds. Fitzpatrick didn’t cut any weight to get there, making him the smaller man in the cage.
During the AOW 22 post-fight press conference, MyMMANews.com reporter and Art of War commentator Bob Meloni asked Fitzpatrick where he sees himself settling in at in the future, in which weight class would he prefer to compete.
“That’s a great question,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’ve been thinking about that before the fight, and now after the fight. I can make 145. Is it fun? No. Does it take a little bit of steam off? Yeah. But 145 is obviously where I think I belong. I didn’t really cut weight. I just didn’t eat dessert for one night. I’m gonna rest up, see what my team thinks. I have great coaches behind me, so we’ll see.”
With the victory, Fitzpatrick moves to 4-0.
One fight later, in the AOW 22 co-main event, Shawn Stefanelli moved to 2-1 with a unanimous decision win over Tim Sylvester.
You don’t need a crystal ball to see that should both Jim Fitzpatrick and Shawn Stefanelli stay with Art of War, a featherweight matchup between the two is in the near future.
