Palhares unfazed by Fitch's barb: 'I expect runners-up to try and make noise'

It didn’t take long for Jon Fitch‘s words to travel to Brazil, but WSOF welterweight champion Rousimar Palhares isn’t bothered by the contender’s claims.

“I’m not worried about what Fitch had to say about me,” Palhares stated through his manager, Alex Davis. “I’m the champ, so I expect the runners-up to try and make some noise at my expense.”

Earlier today, Fitch (25-6-1) said Palhares (16-6) was “unprofessional” for declaring himself ineligible for next month’s WSOF 11 event, which serves as the Las Vegas-based promotion’s first-ever event to air on NBC. While Palhares previously explained he wanted to stay in Brazil to help his mom recover from a scheduled surgical procedure to deal with extreme thrombosis in her legs, Fitch revealed he will fight on the card despite his father undergoing a heart procedure the same week.

Palhares said he was uninterested in the comparisons.

“Each person treats his parents the way he thinks he should,” Palhares said. “In my world, a mother takes priority. Maybe in Jon’s world, it’s different – who knows? Truth is, I would not be able to focus on an important fight while my mother, who made a life of sacrifice for me and my 12 brothers, had to go through a difficult and life-threatening surgery.

“There is no one in this world who could change my feelings on that.”

In the meantime, Fitch is scheduled to fight Dennis Hallman on the main card of WSOF 11, which takes place July 5 at Ocean Center in Daytona, Fla. While the welterweight division is unquestionably one of the promotion’s deepest, a Fitch win could earn him a shot at Palhares’ title.

The champ said he’s just fine with that.

“I’m happy to fight Jon Fitch or whoever else WSOF might want to throw against me,” Palhares said.

WSOF’s next event takes place Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, as a trio of title fights air on NBC Sports Network as part of “WSOF 10: Branch vs. Taylor.”

For more on WSOF 10 and WSOF 11, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.