Edson Barboza, one of the brightest Brazilian prospects in the UFC, will meet Ross Pearson in a clash of rising lightweights at UFC 134. Both competitors are coming off of big wins and looking to earn a fight with one of the UFC’s many lightweight contenders.
At UFC 128, Barboza was involved in a back-and-forth striking matchup with Anthony Njokuani. While he came away with the victory on the scorecards, it was the first time in Barboza’s career that he was unable to finish his opponent.
Against Pearson, Barboza will still have a worthy opponent on his feet, but he will also have to deal with an adversary who brings a dangerous ground game into UFC 134.
At 26-years-old, Ross Pearson is one of the most exciting young fighters to ever come out of Great Britain. Born in England, Pearson obviously has a strong striking background, but his ground game is surprisingly advanced in comparison with his other countrymen.
Pearson already holds a win over Dennis Siver on his record, but a submission loss to Cole Miller in his following fight knocked the Englishman back down the lightweight ladder. A win over Barboza would put Pearson right back in a position to break into the top 10, though.
This fight between Barboza and Pearson will serve as the opening bout of the UFC 134 main card, which will begin on pay-per-view at approximately 9:00 p.m. ET.
The pay-per-view event will also feature a UFC middleweight championship bout between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, a battle involving light heavyweight contenders Mauricio Rua and Forrest Griffin and a heavyweight clash that will see Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira return to the Octagon to face Brendan Schaub.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.