WSOF 9's Josh Burkman: Fitch deserves title shot, 'I won't try to leapfrog him'

In today’s uber-competitive world of MMA, it’s common for fighters to do just about anything they have to do to get a shot at a world title.

But in the case of Josh Burkman, he’s willing to wait a little longer for another crack at gold if that’s what needs to happen – and even can get behind someone else getting the next title shot ahead of him, even if it’s someone he beat rather decisively not long ago.

Burkman (26-10) tonight meets Tyler Stinson (26-9) in a key welterweight bout at WSOF 9, which takes place at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The main card airs on NBC Sports Network.

Burkman fought for the inaugural WSOF welterweight title this past fall, but was stopped by Steve Carl in the fourth round. Tonight, Carl defends the belt against Rousimar Palhares. Waiting in the wings are the Burkman-Stinson winner, as well as Jon Fitch, whom Burkman choked out this past June.

“I think Fitch deserves a shot, and I’m not going to try to leapfrog him, either,” Burkman recently told MMAjunkie Radio. “I think a win over Stinson just shows that I slipped up a little bit against Steve Carl, which is all that happened and I expect to go out and have a really good performance against Stinson.

But I’m going to wait back. I want to watch the fight between Carl and Fitch, if that’s the one that happens. He’s next in line, and he deserves it.”

It wouldn’t even have to be that way, of course, had Burkman gotten past Carl in October. He came in with a five-fight winning streak and wins in eight of his past nine.

In his first three WSOF fights, he was an underdog. But he upset Gerald Harris. Then, as a bigger ‘dog against Aaron Simpson, he got a first-round stoppage. And against Fitch, he was overlooked by just about everyone – and put the former UFC title challenger to sleep in 41 seconds.

So against Carl, he was a heavy favorite of nearly 6-to-1 from some oddsmakers. And he fell prey to the dreaded off night.

“I just had an off night. I just had some things that didn’t work out,” he said. “My (weight) cut was a little different. Usually after I cut weight, I get up to around 185 pounds for fight night – and I fought at 173 pounds. I don’t know what happened. I just had a bad night.”

Against Stinson, he’ll be hoping for a big-time rebound to fix the things he didn’t do right, he said.

A decisive win certainly will keep him right in the mix, likely next in line behind Fitch – with the potential for a rematch on the horizon.

“(Stinson) comes forward, he likes to fight, and I think it’ll make a really exciting fight to watch,” Burkman said. “I’m going to go in and try to knock him out.”

For more on WSOF 9, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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