Jon Fitch pays tribute to Tom Petty with (a pretty darn good) rendition of 'Learning to Fly'

MMA fighters have quite frequently used Tom Petty’s catalog as walkout music, so when the music icon passed away late Monday, the news struck close to home for many competitors.

Petty, 66, died after suffering cardiac arrest, ending a life and music career that had a global impact. When it comes to MMA, Petty’s music is perhaps best associated with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who famously walks out to “I Won’t Back Down.”

Petty’s music clearly had an influence on others, though, including Jon Fitch (30-7-1). The former UFC welterweight title challenger and current PFL fighter apparently has some music talent in his back pocket, and after Petty’s passing, he honored him with a rendition of “Learning to Fly.”

Check it out below (via Instagram):

Man. Tom Petty is one of my all time favorites. Really sad that he is gone. I sang a song for George Michael, so you bet your ass ima sing for Tom Petty. #tompetty #learningtofly

A post shared by Fitch S.M.A.S.H. LLC (@fitch_smash) on Oct 3, 2017 at 5:41am PDT

How did Fitch’s version of the song stack up to the original? Judge for yourself.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.