Jon Fitch says he is ‘on the fence’ about retiring
Jon Fitch appeared to have done it. When the final bell rang, Fitch’s corner celebrated, and many fans on Twitter thought Fitch was about to become the new Bellator welterweight champion and beat Rory MacDonald.
Most had counted out Fitch, but he turned it into his style of fight and grinded ‘Red King’ out. But, when the scorecards were read, two judges saw it as a draw, with the other thinking Fitch won. Meaning, it was a majority draw and MacDonald would retain the title and move on in the Grand Prix.
For the 41-year-old in Fitch, things are much less certain. The veteran was so close to winning another major MMA title. Now, the question is, was that his last MMA fight?
“I didn’t lose, so I don’t know if I should keep that promise,” Fitch said. “But there’s a good chance it’s my last time. Now, if I got offered the Neiman Gracie fight, it’ll be hard to turn down a chance to win $1 million (which goes to the winner of the current eight-man Bellator welterweight tournament).”
“I thought I did enough to win,” he said about the majority draw decision. “The judges didn’t see it the way I saw it. Two judges had it a draw and one thought I won, so I thought I won. It was a good performance. I got a few stitches to take home with me.”
“Going into the fifth, my corner told me we definitely had to win the round to seal the deal.”
“I thought split decision, but I thought I did enough to win. The crowd reaction indicated they thought I won.”
“I’m on the fence about walking away,” he said. “I’ve done a lot in this sport, 42 pro fights, two amateur fights, 17 years of training, and I started wrestling at nine. I’ve been banging heads for a long time. It’s up to me, how I feel. I want to get some picture and see how my body is holding up. I can’t straighten my arms. I’ve lost an inch in reach, and that’s not a good thing. But it’s fun. I have fun doing it.”
Ultimately, Fitch will take time to really think things over. But, he isn’t getting any younger so that may have been it.
