Jon Fitch Back With AKA

World Series Of Fighting Welterweight Champion Jon Fitch is preparing to defend his belt against Jake Shields at the WSOF 34, but while he trained for his last fight in Las Vegas, the champion returned to San Jose and the American Kickboxing Academy. While some would assume that a return to AKA was always in the works for Fitch, it was a move motivated more by money than anything else.

“Financially, I just couldn’t swing it,” Fitch told MMA Junkie Radio. “My wife had to get a job, so we had to move. My wife really wanted to be near family. And the work she’s doing, she’s doing here. It’s a good situation because we’ve got a lot of friends, a lot of family, a lot of people. I’m just stressed about the money sometimes, you know, having to feed people. It puts a lot of extra pressure on you.”

It's been a little while since Fitch has been at AKA, but Fitch is happy to see the changes that the training center has undergone.

“It changed a little bit, which I like,” Fitch said. “It’s a little bit less banging heads every day, and there’s a lot more drilling, and I just think the sport itself has evolved. Ten years ago, 14 years ago, when I started it was just, ‘Show up and beat the crap out of each other.’ And now there’s quite a bit more technique and thoughtfulness put into the training, and it’s a lot better.”

World Series Of Fighting 34 takes place on Saturday, December 31 from The Theater At Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Justin Gaethje and Luiz Firmino headlining.