Bellator president says he won't hire Jon Fitch

Bjorn Rebney has closed Bellator's doors to Jon Fitch for the moment. Photo: Bellator (Disclosure)

Bellator president Bjorn Rebney denied that the organization intends to sign fighter Jon Fitch, who was recently fired from the UFC. Increasing speculation has gained strength in recent days, especially after the interview given by Ultimate's president, Dana White, pointing to Bellator as Fitch's likely destination. In an interview with MMA Report, Rebney ruled out the hypothesis.

“We have a full welterweight division right now. We have a lot of guys that we are developing that we anticipate are going to be top-level fighters and reach the top ten. We want to keep these guys busy. We want to keep the fighters within the cage and we have a plan for next year apart from the tournaments, and it’s just not the time,” said Rebney.

After the words of the Bellator president, Dana White's bet that the money from Viacom – company that has a majority stake in the organization’s command – would have made a difference in Fitch’s hiring, seems to have gone down the drain. Now, it seems that the veteran North American fighter will seek space outside of the main events in the United States.