Low-key UFC 127 headliner Jon Fitch puts skills ahead of self-promotion

Jon Fitch has put five-and-a-half years into a 14-fight UFC career.

Few fighters as experienced as him, though, remain so low-key and under the radar, especially after winning all but one of his fights.

But as Fitch heads into Saturday's UFC 127 headliner and a No. 1 contender's bout with B.J. Penn, he said the time has come to embrace his once-undesired celebrity.

Fitch (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) and Penn (16-7-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) were the key figures at Tuesday's pre-UFC 127 press conference. The weekend event takes place Sunday at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, but due to the time difference, the pay-per-view event airs live in its normal Saturday-night timeslot here in North America.

Fitch initially was slated to fight Jake Ellenberger in a UFC 125 contest that was met with little fanfare. But after Penn, the former UFC lightweight kingpin, returned to welterweight and shocked Matt Hughes with a 21-second knockout in November, UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva booked the Fitch vs. Penn main event.

Admittedly, Fitch has come out of shell for the sold-out event. And he said that decision was a calculated one.

"A lot of it has to do with my ideology of getting my skill set to the point where it needs to be ... before opening yourself up," said Fitch, whose only UFC loss came in a 2008 title fight with champ Georges St-Pierre. "A lot of guys will rush to open themselves up, and their skill set isn't there.

"Well, if the people love you but you suck at fighting, you're not going to be around very long."

Fitch, Purdue University's former wrestling-team captain, has gone to a decision in his past seven victories. His grinding style hasn't hasn't won many fans. However, his blue-collar approach to the sport, his willingness to take on all-comers, and his unwavering ideals (such as vowing never to fight a teammate) have earned him plenty of respect, both from fans and fellow fighters.

The spotlight now shines brightly. A win over Penn would be Fitch's sixth straight. And though a second meeting with St-Pierre appears unlikely – the champ said he'll move to middleweight for good if he defeats Jake Shields at UFC 129 – Fitch would be expected to get the first shot at a victorious Shields or a potential fight for St-Pierre's vacated title.

So now, he said, is as good as time as any to open up.

"I made sure I got my skill set where it needed to be to stay on top and be on top for a very long time," he said. "I've got it to that point. Now I feel like I have the opportunity to let people in a little bit and know me more.

"Everything comes in stages and steps. This was the time for this to happen. I'm embracing it now, and everything is working out great now, I think."