UFC
QUOTABLES: UFC welterweight Jon Fitch discusses his shoulder injury, wants B.J. Penn rematch when he returns
Apr 20, 2011 - 1:45:15 PM QUOTABLES: UFC welterweight Jon Fitch discusses his shoulder injury, wants B.J. Penn rematch when he returns

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I'm going to have to get the labrum worked on, and I also have a tear of one of the rotator cuff muscles that's going to need to be repaired, too... It's functional. I can move around and do stuff with it. I could probably even fight with it. But going through a camp and going through six-hour days of workouts, eventually it's going to break down. I don't think I would get through a full fight camp without it breaking down completely... It's really depressing. My most favorite thing in the world to do every day with my life, I don't get to do now for a few months.

[A rematch is] the best fight for each of us. I think it would be dumb for either of us to take a fight with anybody else but each other before we settle it. Either me or B.J. would love to just fight the winner of Jake (Shields) and [Georges St-Pierre]. But I think it's realistic that if Jake wins that fight, that there will be a rematch. And if GSP wins that fight, he only fights a couple times a year. So he'll probably take a break, and there will be time for [Penn and me] to fight. If GSP moves up to fight Anderson (Silva), there's still time for him to do that and me and B.J. to fight. There's a lot of options. I hope it works out favorably for me. But I can't ask the world to stop turning just because I have an injury."

-Jon Fitch talks to MMAJunkie.com about his shoulder injury and his desire to still have his rematch with B.J. Penn upon his return.

Penick's Analysis: It sounds like it's not as severe necessarily as it could have been feared, as it's not a complete rotator cuff tear and he can still function with it. Hopefully it's not the type of injury that will have a very real negative effect on his skill set when he's able to return. I'd agree with him that the Penn rematch makes the most sense for both fighters after their draw, but it really depends on a lot of factors right now, mostly just how long he'll be out, but also when Penn is able to return, what GSP does after the Jake Shields fight at UFC 129 and how the rest of the welterweight division handles their business while he's out of action. But with their first encounter ending in a draw, the two will meet again.

[Jon Fitch art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]