After a strong 10-9 opening round for BJ and a competitive second round that could have gone either way - Fitch dominated the Prodigy throughout the 3rd round but seems to have only managed a 10-9 round 3 in the eyes of the judges giving us the majority draw that was called tonight. It was a fair call, granted Fitch did more damage in the 3rd than BJ did in the 1st, they were still both 10-9 rounds.
Which BJ did we see tonight? He seemed fit and well-conditioned, he seemed to have an excellent game plan, and mentally he looked well prepared and focused...so what went wrong? Is BJ just too small for welterweight, how would he fair out against the rest of the top tier welterweights?
This fight left us with more questions than answers yet I find myself comforted in the fact that BJ didn't lose. As a fan of BJ I hate to see him lose fights that he was prepared for and I believe he had a great camp preparing for this bout. BJ never used to get handled like this against Matt Hughes, who for a period of time was considered the physically strongest welterweight in the UFC, so why now? GSP, Fitch, Alves, Koschek, Kampmann, Sheilds - All of these welterweights are much bigger than BJ and a huge challenge.
We'll see what happens next; if there is a Penn | Fitch II and it’s a continuation of tonight's fight it could be a long night for BJ. If Penn improves on his ability to get out from underneath, it could be a frustrating night for Fitch (much like the first 1.5 rounds tonight)
The real question that tonight's main event evokes in me is what does BJ need to do to win the rematch; and continue at 170 lbs.
Nice/Safe call Nick, perhaps some of your trademark whit is in order!
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