AKA: Also known as out of work

Man getting hit by football.

Jon Fitch has to be feeling a lot like Hans Moleman at this moment.

In a move that has sent shock waves through the MMA world, the UFC has released Jon Fitch from his contract and said they will no longer deal with any fighters fighting for the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).

Fitch's release has everything to do with "his reluctance to sign a lifetime contract to allow his name and likeness to be used in a video game the UFC is planning". His fellow AKA teammates (like Josh Koscheck and rising heavyweight Cain Velasquez) are also apparently not going to sign as well, which means they are are pretty much gone too.

I know Fitch does not want to be taken advantage of by the UFC but frankly, he really does not have much choice in the matter. Unless your name is Fedor, then you are irrelevent in terms of making any kind of long term money while not fighting for the UFC.

So in other words, a Jon Fitch that fights for Affliction is one loss away from becoming a nobody. Does he honestly think that signing this agreement could hurt his chances of having his own "Jon Fitch's Rear Naked Choke" video game?

The UFC is the brand that MMA is recognized with. It's like if Tom Brady decided he was sick of the NFL controlling him and signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He would go from GQ cover boy to ex-boyfriend of Gisele Bundchen in a heartbeat.

If you're an MMA fighter, you don't want to be on Dana White's bad side. The guy doesn't just burn bridges, he loads them up with C-4 and watches them explode. (Randy Couture is the obvious exception.)

It's probably too late for Jon Fitch to mend any fences with the UFC unless there is some heavy groveling involved and Fitch is the not the groveling type. Koscheck and Velasquez should follow their other AKA training partner Mike Swick by signing on the dotted the line.

If they don't ,they are going to find themselves in the exact same position as Fitch--unemployed and feeling like Hans Moleman.

***UPDATE- Looks like I spoke too soon. Fitch is already back with the UFC and all it took was call to Lorenzo Fertitta. Dana White has done a lot for the UFC, but I wonder how many fighters he has driven away with his negotiating tactics? Too bad Lorenzo Fertitta wasn't involved when they were trying to sign Fedor or we could be getting ready for a matchup with him and Brock Lesnar.