PHOENIX -- Few would blame Jon Fitch if he took a little satisfaction in the current plight of ex-World Series of Fighting champion Rousimar Palhares. After all, it was Palhares who stonewalled Fitch's chance to fight for the title on NBC, and it was Palhares who tore Fitch's knee to shreds and left him sidelined for the better part of a year once the two welterweights finally met.
But in this case, expectations and reality couldn't be father apart. Fitch not only sympathizes with Palhares' plight, he also lays much of the fault on the sport's sanctioning bodies for allowing the Brazilian's issues to reach such a low point in the first place.