MMA News Forums - AKA's Camarillo: My career is a failure unless Fitch gets another title shot

AKA's Camarillo: My career is a failure unless Fitch gets another title shot | MMAjunkie.com

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Add jiu-jitsu trainer Dave Camarillo to the list of those who think Georges St-Pierre has cleaned out the UFC's welterweight division and should move up to meet middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

That's not a statement that clashes with his loyalty to perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch, with whom he shares a close relationship at American Kickboxing Academy.

"I want Fitch to get the rematch more than anybody," Camarillo on Monday told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). "But the fact is that the division is cleaned out."

Camarillo's statements echo those of AKA trainer Javier Mendez, who this past weekend told MMAjunkie.com that he agrees with UFC president Dana White's recent comments that St-Pierre has vanquished all credible threats to his belt after a lopsided decision victory over Josh Koscheck at UFC 124.

Fitch is due to meet former lightweight champion B.J. Penn in February's UFC 127 headliner and made it clear he feels he's next in line after Jake Shields for a second crack at St-Pierre.

"I feel if I can put on a fantastic performance here with B.J., there's no denying a title shot," he said Monday during a press conference in Sydney in support of the pay-per-view event. "We're in the sport of selling fights right now, and the sport's growing, and we're trying to get international and trying to get into every household. Part of the ticket sales is Jake Shields coming over from Strikeforce with two belts. I understand that. It's a business decision.

"(But) I think I'm better than Jake. I think I should be fighting for the title. But I've been given a huge opportunity here to fight B.J. Penn, and that's a big fight, belt or no belt."

Camarillo doesn't necessarily feel that Fitch should be the next fight for St-Pierre, but he agrees with Fitch that the welterweight schedule is a little out of whack.

"I think the next step is not Jake Shields," Camarillo said. "I don't think that's a good matchup for Jake. I think GSP needs to fight Anderson Silva. That's the only fight that makes sense to me."

If Fitch gets past Penn and if St-Pierre vies for Silva's title after besting Shields, Camarillo hopes St-Pierre will return to defend his welterweight title. Contrary to Mendez, he said it's not just about getting the belt for Fitch; he wants to face St-Pierre for the title.

"I want Fitch to fight [St-Pierre] now, but it's not always the right timing," he said.

Following his win over Koscheck, St-Pierre said he'll stay at middleweight if he bests Shields and takes the challenge against Silva.

"If I put muscle on my body, and I go up to 185, I'm going to have to stay 185," St-Pierre said. "I don't want to go up and down. When you go up and down, you see what happened to Roy Jones. It messed up [his] reaction time. In boxing and mixed martial arts, it's different [with] the weight classes. In boxing, I think it's eight pounds. ... In mixed martial arts, it's 15 pounds. So playing with your weight, you need to be careful with that."

Camarillo undoubtedly will be watching St-Pierre's moves after the fight with Shields, which could take place in April at Toronto's UFC 131 event. Meanwhile, he has to make sure Fitch emerges victorious against Penn.

"I'm more motivated than anything," Camarillo said. "If we don't get Fitch another title shot, than I feel my career is a failure. We'll fight anybody. It doesn't matter who you put in front of Fitch. We're going to do our best."