In this exclusive MMA52 interview, fast-rising welterweight Jon Fitch talks about his upcoming UFC Fight Night 10 co-headlining fight against Roan Carneiro, how he stacks up against the top welterweights in the UFC and how he just wants to get paid.

MMA52: How has your training regimen been going at AKA?

Fitch: It's going really well, getting good work in, good sparring, my cardio is on top, right on line with a peak on the 12^th. I'm real happy about this training camp, it's going very well.

MMA52: Is there anything special you've been working on in preparation for Roan Carneiro?

Fitch: He's a really good wrestler, really good ground control. I've been doing a lot of situational type of stuff as far as my ground work and starting off in a really bad position. He's pretty good at controlling positions so I'm putting myself in really bad situations and make myself fight out of them.

Anytime I face a good grappler like Roan I spend a lot of time starting off in submissions and working my way out, so it should be a really great ground game.

MMA52: What are your thoughts on Carneiro and what he brings to the table being from Brazilian Top Team? Will his jiu jitsu be in the back of your mind or are you confident your skills are better than his?

Fitch: It's a style difference. I wouldn't say better, but we both have different styles. He has a very controlling style. He's a very good wrestler so he's going to be hard to take down. He does a good job of getting off of his back and getting back on top.

He doesn't open up a lot with elbows and punches and he's not a huge finisher. He dominates his positions and he actively looks to pass guard, but he doesn't come up with a lot of submissions.

His favorite choke is an anaconda choke. He allows guys to sit up, and baits them, and as they escape he slaps that choke on, so I'm wary of that. I think it should be a match-up of who has the better wrestling and better jiu jitsu.

MMA52: After five fights on the under card, are you guaranteed a spot on the main card and what is your feeling about finally getting on it for the UFC?

Fitch: Yea, it's guaranteed. I got the e-mail from SpikeTV and yes, I have been guaranteed. I'm one of three fights on the main card. I finally get some time in the spotlight.

But I've said it before, it's not that big of a deal, its not about being famous, I don't care that much about that. I'm more worried about competing at a high level against high level opponents and getting paid what I'm worth and the UFC has been doing that.

I told Joe Silva a long time ago that I like fighting the toughest guys. So he picks up these phenomenal fighters that no ones ever heard of and he puts me up against them, you know. I'm fine with that, that's what I asked before and he's given me what I've asked for.

MMA52: Three out of your five fights in the UFC have ended early, so it's hard to imagine that it was always time constraints. Did the UFC ever give you a reason as to why your fights weren't being televised?

Fitch: The fight with Luigi [Fiorvanti] -- that was definitely a time constraint. They really wanted to show that fight. The [Matt] Hughes fight went three rounds and the championship with Randy [Couture] and Tim Sylvia went five rounds. That's a huge chunk of time. So I understand that fight not getting aired.

But prior to that, I thought maybe they didn't like me, but they're smart business guys. Looking back on it now, they probably knew that I was going to be here for a while so they didn't have to push me like they do with some of the other guys. They have to get those guys exposure and make their money off of them. Then they can throw them to the side because they're used up.

Some of these guys from the reality TV show -- they find really bad contracts for a long term. They fight like nine times under this contract for really no money so they just sack them through and hurry up and use them in that time. Unfortunately the casual fans only know what they're shown.

MMA52: How long is left on your current contract?

Fitch: We just resigned. This is the first fight on my next contract.

MMA52: If you get past Carneiro, is there anyone in the UFC's welterweight division that you'd particularly like to fight?

Fitch: Nobody in specific. I called out Karo [Parisyan] after my last fight because he was the only guy ranked above me that didn't have a match and didn't have anything setup yet and wasn't busy. It was a logical choice, but yea, nobody in particular.

MMA52: That'd be a hell of a fight between you and Karo.

Fitch: I think so too, were both go-er's, we both like to throw and get guys to the ground. It'd be an exciting fight.

MMA52: Did it frustrate you that Josh Burkman, a guy you beat, got that fight with Karo instead of you? Or was that something Joe Silva had a reason for?

Fitch: Yea, it was a little frustrating. But at the same time, I think that fight had already been decided on before I had made it known that I wanted to fight Karo. I didn't say anything about it until UFC 68.

Whatever, as long as they keep me busy fighting really tough guys, I'm happy.

MMA52: At UFC 69, two of your teammates, Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck fought, what was your though on Koscheck's fight with Diego Sanchez?

Fitch: That was the plan all along. To keep it standing and counter punch. We knew that Diego wasn't going to be able to take Josh down. We knew Josh's hands were much better than Diego's. He executed the perfect game plan. It was exactly how we trained during camp.

I actually learned how to fight southpaw so I could imitate Diego. He just kind of throws flurries of punches without moving forward much and then drives in towards you legs.  He did that over and over again and Josh was ready for everything he had.

He[Josh] really didn't want to go to the ground for the fight. He took him down just to see in the first round, but he figured Diego would force a scramble and then threaten him that way. He executed the perfect game plan to beat him.

MMA52: What about Swick's fight against Yushin Okami? In your view, was there anything Swick could've done to combat Okami's strength?

Fitch: He didn't really use the game plan. He was supposed to use a lot more movement on his feet and cut a lot more angles, which he didn't really do. On the ground he wasn't active enough and he blames his strength, but I think he still could've won that fight if he fought a little bit differently.

Overall, he feels better in the lighter weights, which is understandable. He fought that fight at 181 pounds. Yushin was around 195-200 pounds, and that does make a difference.

MMA52: Speaking of Swick, in my recent interview with him, he stated a strong desire to drop down to 170 pounds; he said he's belonged at that weight the whole time. If Swick drops, what kind of logjam does that create in the welterweight division with yourself, Koscheck and Swick?

Fitch: We're not really concerned or worried about it. Things will play out, there's no reason to think five years down the future we won't have fights going on we do now.

There's plenty of guys to fight. I don't think it will become an issue. None of us would really fight each other. Too much drama in the gym and then, what happens afterwords? How do you train? It's kind of like sacrificing your whole career for one fight.

MMA52: If Koscheck wins the welterweight title, would you consider moving around in weight? Is 155 too small for you and 185 too big or would you consider a move?

Fitch: You can get a lot of 'if' and 'buts', but I don't really worry about that stuff until it happens. I don't even think about it, it's not worth it. It's not even a consideration; we don't give a shit about it. Other people are curious, but we're not. We don't care; if it happens then we'll see.

MMA52: What are your thoughts on Zuffa's recent acquisition of PRIDE? Is there anyone in particular from PRIDE's 161-pound division that you'd like the fight?

Fitch: There isn't really a comparison in that class. Most of those guys at 160 will make the 155-pound cut. Two or three guys maybe that have to move up. [Nick] Diaz might be back, [Hayato] Sakurai -- maybe he might move up.

It's not like 205 or 185, it doesn't really apply to us. All of us top guys at 170 are in the UFC except for like two or three.

MMA52: Are there any fighters outside of the UFC that you have a desire to fight?

Fitch: Not really, no. I fight to fight, as long as they are a tough guy. There's not one individual that I'm like 'Oh, I want to fight that guy." If you're tough and you got skills, I want to fight as many of those guys as I can.

Really I want to fight everybody. Is there one particular guy I want to fight? No, I want to fight everybody.

MMA52: What are you thoughts on Matt Serra's recent upset victory over Georges St. Pierre in the welterweight division?

Fitch: When you go back and think about it, how long was Serra training for that fight? He had what, like four months?

St. Pierre had a knee injury and a lot going on where he wasn't able to train for that fight. Where Serra has been training specifically on one game plan the whole time to fight somebody. That's a huge advantage. It's not that he doing cardio training, he's doing technical training -- studying film, looking for holes in the game plan of St. Pierre and his skill set and focusing for four to five months to beat those flaws in his game. That's what he did and he capitalized on St. Pierre's mistakes and good job to him.

MMA52: How many fights do you envision yourself having before you are ready to challenge for a shot at the welterweight title?

Fitch: I'm ready now. If they called me now and asked me to fight for the title, I'll fight. Whether it's Matt Serra holding the title, Matt Hughes holding the title, or Georges St. Pierre holding the title, I'll fight anyone of those guys and I'm ready right now to beat any one of them.

I know that his time next year 2008 or close to 2009 before I'll get a shot because of the way the weight class is stacked up. But I'm fine with that because the more times I fight, the more times I win, the higher my paycheck is. I don't want to be in a situation like Rich Franklin was when he was holding the title and he was fighting for like $30,000.

MMA52: Thanks a lot Jon, do you have any messages for your fans and sponsors?

Fitch: Check out my website www.fitchfighter.com, check me out on Myspace at www.myspace.com/fitchfighter, Toe2Toe for hooking me up with cool gear, TNT Sales, Mona Vie energy drink, Jigsaw Design for doing my website, and the Score Clinic for keeping me put together.