Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

MINNEAPOLIS - A proud warrior to the bitter end, Jon Fitch took his beating like a man, received stitches from a doctor, eschewed the order to visit a hospital and marched into the post-fight press conference with a cold Corona in one hand, a bag of ice for his battered face in the other.

His left eye swollen completely shut, his face dotted with welts and cuts and telling the story of a dream deferred, Fitch looked at the mass of humanity in the room and let out a wry smile. The media might be known for its collective cynicism, but one look at this beaten but dignified man and the reaction was spontaneous, as the assembled group let out an ovation for the fighter who took UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre to the limit.

Fitch brought his heart to the cage, but it was St. Pierre who executed brilliantly en route to his first successful title defense in an event that drew 15,082 to the Target Center, shattering the venue gate record with a $2.2 million haul.

The fans got their money’s worth from Fitch and St. Pierre, who needed all five rounds in mowing through his challenger in workmanlike fashion. St. Pierre won every round on the judges’ scorecards in the battle, and nearly ended the fight early in a dominating first. He floored the challenger with a straight right and followed with an effective ground attack. Referee Yves Lavigne looked closely at the challenger, who took damage in the barrage but did just enough to keep the fight going. Later in the round, St. Pierre repeated the process with a right cross, followed by ground and pound. By the end of the first five minutes, Fitch had a cut under his eye and had the left side of his face reddened.

“After the first round, I tried everything,” St. Pierre said later. “I thought, ‘my God, what do I have to do to beat this guy?’ It was discouraging.”

Fitch entered the bout on a 15-fight win streak, but St. Pierre won from start to finish.

Though losing, Fitch showed himself to be a durable and worthy opponent, surviving tremendous punishment over the course of 25 minutes. St. Pierre was the more accurate striker and despite Fitch having a collegiate wrestling background, GSP also bested him in the takedown department, dictating the fight’s location for most of the bout.

Still, the challenger was game, having his best round in the second when landed his share of strikes. He also pulled off a rare feat in the third by putting GSP on his back for a brief spell. The champion, however, was able to do enough to win the round in both instances in a truly dominant performance.

After the fight, Fitch was supposed to head to the hospital for precautionary reasons, but instead faced the media, saying speed was the deciding factor.

"It took me the entire first round to adjust to it, and by that time, I could barely see out of my eye," he said.

Fitch later let his emotions get away as he spoke about the support he received from friends and family.

Video   Fitch gracious in defeat A battle-scarred Jon Fitch shows class in defeat at the hands of Georges St-Pierre, graciously calling him a "great champ"

"I'm disappointed," he said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I feel like I let people down. My teammates, my friends, my family. I had a lot of people come up here tonight. They don't have a lot of money, but they still came up here to support me and I let them down. And I feel bad about that..."

His voice trailed off, but nobody who watched his performance can doubt his heart.

"Fitch is such an amazing fighter, and he showed incredible heart and courage tonight," said St. Pierre's trainer Greg Jackson.

"He gave me a war," St. Pierre added. "We'll both be better fighters for it in the future."

St. Pierre has now avenged both of his losses, beaten legends and soundly defeated the No. 1 contender, so the next logical question has to be: Who’s next?

B.J. Penn believes he is the answer.

Immediately after the final decision was read, the current UFC lightweight champ entered the octagon and laid down a challenge to St. Pierre.

“Let’s do this,” Penn said to St. Pierre, who said he’d be willing to take the fight.

“I want to be the best in the world,” St. Pierre said. “I’ll give a shot to anyone who deserves. I’m not like champions in other sports who duck challenges. I won’t duck people. I have courage and will not be afraid to fight anybody.”

UFC President Dana White said that fight will likely happen, perhaps at some point later this year.