Is UFC mad at Jon Fitch

Could have sworn I already made this thread, but could not find it lol.

anyways, I was wondering what people thought's of the UFC making Jon Fitch's next opponent an up in comer by name of Jake  Ellenberger?  To me this seems to be a reaction to Jon Fitch's claims about never fighting Kos. What do you all think? Is is legitment match up or an FU to Jon Fitch. Because this fight seems to have very little up side for him.

I have no idea why this made two thread.  If moderator could close one please do.

Damn that's annoying, sorry.

No worries. 

Dana White has had a long history with American Kickboxing Academy in general, and Jon Fitch in particular.  In November 2008 he briefly cut Fitch from the UFC after Fitch and other AKA members refused to sign a contract giving over lifetime video game rights of their likenesses to the UFC.  White was prepared to cut Koscheck and another young up-and-comer, Cain Velasquez, if they didn't sign the agreements, and was prepared to no longer work with any other AKA-trained fighters (although Mike Swick broke ranks from the rest of AKA and signed right away).  AKA caved in a few days later and signed the agreements, and all was returned to normal.

Dana White and Fitch sparred again at the post-fight presser when Fitch claimed he wouldn't fight Koscheck -- I believe this was after Fitch's win over Ben Saunders -- saying sarcastically they fight already in the gym every day and why don't they hold the bout behind closed doors in the gym. Dana White responded with something to the effect of "yeah, that's gonna make a lot of money."

White had said earlier this year that the winner of the Fitch / Alves rematch would get a shot at the title, then reversed position and said that following GSP / Koscheck, it would be the winner of Shields / Kampmann who gets the title shot and not Fitch.  Now he gives Fitch a bout with Jake Ellenberger, which is a dangerous fight for Fitch in which he has nothing to gain and everything to lose.  It's pretty clearly a snub of Fitch in my opinion and I think Dana would like nothing more than to see Fitch lose so they can drop him back down a notch, maybe even to the prelims.

Lesson being, don't F with Dana White.

Anyway, Ellenberger's a good fighter, young and hungry with the wrestling to compete with Fitch, though perhaps not the late-round experience and toughness.

@Jeremy,

Totally spot on regarding Ellengerber's chances against Fitch.

I actually spoke with Jon earlier this week and we touched on this topic. He honestly seemed pretty resigned to his fate to me and we spent some time talking about a possible move to middleweight, as well. That one will be up in a couple of weeks.

The answer to the original question is both yes and no. This is a legitimate fight with Ellenberger representing a serious threat to Fitch's "beaten everyone but GSP" record. BUT, this is exactly why it is a slap in Fitch's face from the UFC. As Jeremy says, Fitch has very little to gain in this fight, while Ellenberger has a chance to broach the top-ten with an impressive performance.
I have little sympathy for Fitch here though. I cannot understand the reluctance to fight someone you train with. The only logical explanation I can come up with is that they already know who will most likely win, and have agreed not to diminish the other's stock by going through the motions of the fight, but if that is the case then the weaker party needs to find a new camp.

@Raray

Meaning Koscheck...

Yes, probably, but the point is more generally applicable.

Jeremy pretty much said it. Fitch'es refusal to fight other members of AKA has seriously hurt his relationship with Dana. It was such a difficult situation for the UFC at the time because he had 3 people pushing for title contention at 170 from AKA. 

jon fitch just likes to fight.  i think he understands his style is not that exciting, and he already lost in his title shot and therefore the UFC is in a bind with him.  

UFC needs to sell fights and get people to tune in... Fitch isn't making it happen.  Don't think they hate him, he just is what he is and what are they s'posed to do.  Great fighter tho.

Jon Fitch is the man.

Agreed. He is the man.

In other news, exclusive interview with Fitch will be published tomorrow morning, 8am sharp, on the blog. Be there or be octagon.