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Still, it was the slight adversity he faced in the second frame that may have provided the most impressive sequence of the fight. It began when Silva pulled off a foot trip on him and slammed his face to the canvas, a moment Fitch said he's not soon to forget.
"I made a few mistakes here and there but I think some of those mistakes were because I was going for things, and you open yourself a little bit," Fitch said in an interview with Fuel TV after the fight (transcribed by Zach Arnold at FightOpinion.com). "I mean... he footswept me and I frickin took a mouthful of canvas, you know, I think I'm going to be spitting Bud Light emblem out of my teeth. But I mean, he's a tough kid but I had just too much desire in my heart to let him win today."
That desire allowed him to get out of the worst spot of the fight, as Silva took his back and locked on a rear naked choke. The hold was tight, and for most fighters it would have been all over right there, but Fitch managed to escape, then turn around and end the round on top attacking for an armbar. After the event, Fitch said that's an area of his game he's worked on extensively, and one he'll allow fighters to get on him in order to move to top position.
"Man, after the training camp for B.J. Penn, there’s nobody who's coming close to finishing me for a rear naked choke," Fitch said. "It's just not going to happen. I was putting bounties out to guys, to black belts starting on my back with deep hooks and still getting out and getting on top. It's almost a position I used to get on top sometimes because sometimes you can't sweep guys, whatever. So, I'll give you my back, give you hooks, let you try to choke me, stick you on your back, and turn around on you."
It was a strategy that worked in that thrilling second frame, and by the time the third began, Silva's gas tank was empty. That allowed Fitch to take over from there, and he bounced back in a big way from his two-fight winless streak.
Penick's Analysis: Fitch's ability to get out of that rear naked choke was crazy, and it's an ability most fighters just don't have. Drilling it extensively made him more comfortable in that spot, of course, but drilling it and dealing with it in a fight can be two very different things. Still, it was highly impressive that he was able to get out of that hold, and from there it was his fight the rest of the way. It was a much needed win, and a big performance from Fitch in the right spot.
[Jon Fitch art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_14682.shtml
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