If Georges St-Pierre is indeed a free agent, Jon Fitch welcomes championship rematch

At one point, Jon Fitch was widely regarded as the toughest title defense of Georges St-Pierre’s UFC run. And if “Rush” truly is a free agent, Fitch would happily welcome a rematch.

“(St-Pierre) retired a champ,” Fitch told our partners at Champions.co. “Champion vs. champion – a World Series champ. I would be interested in that fight for sure, and I think the fans should be allowed to see those type of fights.”

St-Pierre’s status isn’t exactly certain right now. While the former UFC champ declared himself a free agent, UFC officials quickly claimed that wasn’t the case, and the sides have remained quiet since.

It’s a position Fitch can appreciate. After all, he’s been a longtime supporter of the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association and believes such an organization could have a big impact on the sport – as could the adaptation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to MMA.

“It kind of disrupts the monopolizing of champions,” Fitch explained. “You have guys that win a championship belt for one company and they’re stuck in a contract with that company to defend their belt. Well, that’s the most valuable that fighter is at that time. (St-Pierre) should be allowed to be a free agent.

“One of the things that the Ali Act encompasses is that those champions will be able to go to the free market after winning the belt. If the company wants to keep him, they’re going to have to bid for him with the other companies. So now you’ll get champion vs. champion. You won’t have to see guys stuck with just one company.”

MMA isn’t quite there just yet. Fitch (28-7-1) is currently the reigning WSOF welterweight champ and is set to meet fellow vet Jake Shields (31-8-1) at WSOF 34, which takes place Dec. 31 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and air on NBC.

But if things are different anytime soon – or if St-Pierre really can prove his deal is done – then Fitch would love to see him on the other side of the cage.

To hear more from Fitch, including why he believes a third-party ranking body is needed in MMA, as well as why an open market would wind up creating better fighters, check out the video above.

For more on the UFC and WSOF’s upcoming schedules, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

And for more videos from Champions.co, check out their YouTube page.