Should Jon Fitch Upgrade to Middleweight if Koscheck Beats St-Pierre?

Even if Jon Fitch never wins a title in the UFC , I'll still remember him for his loyalty.

Would I like to see him fight some of his teammates? Absolutely, but you can't make Fitch fight Mike Swick or Josh Koscheck , even if it means a title shot for doing so or contract termination for not doing so.

Fighters know who they want to fight and who they don't want to fight. It just so happens that teammates fall in the "don't want to" category.

Why am I even bringing this up?

Simple. Because MMA Mania reports that Jon Fitch will be more than willing to move up to middleweight if Josh Koscheck can beat Georges St-Pierre.

Yes, you definitely read that right.

Said Fitch on the subject (according to MMA Mania):

"To me there's no reason to fight a teammate. It's just not a fight we're interested in at all. It's a situation where, if Koscheck is able to win the belt and defend the belt, I will move up to 185. I think I have a good size frame. I can put on 15 pounds. I may have to take a month off or so to put on some weight, but that process may take over a year from now. I'll have fought every welterweight worth fighting by then. [If Georges wins] I'll be waiting on the front doorsteps with flowers [for a title shot]."

Would Middleweight be a good fit for Fitch at all?

Maybe in terms of competition, but there's no telling who Fitch is going to face in the next year.

All we know for sure is that he'll face Thiago Alves at UFC 117, and the only place where he'll face Mike Swick or Josh Koscheck is in the AKA gym in San Jose. We don't know that he'll be next in line for Dan Hardy, Dustin Hazelett , or any "elite" 170-pounder in a year.

We also don't know if Fitch can hang with the toughest of the tough in the middleweight division, and that's regardless of whether the title sees a new holder by November or not.

But maybe he can.

Sure, we won't know that he could handle the best at 185, whether St-Pierre loses the belt or not, but if Koscheck beats "Rush"— and there's not enough reasons to think that he definitely won't at least have a shot at doing so—then maybe we'll get to see him at middleweight and then we'll know for sure.

Then we'll see that Jon Fitch is better off keeping people from challenging Koscheck than he'd be trying to gun for the middleweight belt.

But what if he's middleweight champ by next year?

Quicker have past tickets to a title shot been punched, and regardless of whether it's a Phenom, a politician, or a pain-in-the-neck arachnid holding the belt by the time Fitch goes up, there's a chance that one of the most fluid wrestlers in the UFC may become its 185-pound king.

Should he though?

It may not matter to Fitch...as long as he doesn't have to fight Koscheck or Swick .

Should Jon Fitch move up to middleweight if St-Pierre loses the belt to Koscheck , or do you think he should stay at welterweight and at least prove that he can beat "King Georges"? Let me know. Leave your thoughts in the comment box below or in my inbox .