In his first fight in the UFC’s featherweight division, Ross Pearson chased down and outfought jiu-jitsu ace Junior Assuncao to win by unanimous decision.
The winner of season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, the hard-charging Pearson presented an interesting contrast to the evasive and very defensive-minded Assuncao. Plenty of the fight passed with minimal action, with Assuncao circling away from Pearson’s advances, or the two fighters spending time in the clinch.
Pearson finally got off when he landed a left jab about halfway through the second round. He was able to do moderate damage on Assuncao from that point on. Here’s what we learned.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
Booooring. I don’t make any personal judgements about the fighters involved; hey, they’re just fighters trying to win a fight. Assuncao knows himself and fought respectably well. But still. The sky is blue, the sun rises in the east, and this fight was pretty boring.
What We Learned About Ross Pearson
That he’s persistent. Pearson stayed within himself and kept pressing forward, despite a game plan that seemed tailor made to frustrate him.
What We Learned About Junior Assuncao
That he needs more boxing. Or aggression. Or something.
Though he is a BJJ expert, Assuncao spent most of the fight on his feet. He wasn’t able to score takedowns with any regularity and, once the fight did hit the mat, he was unable to get Pearson in serious trouble. He’ll have to operate effectively on different levels to find consistent success in the UFC. Though he is a very respectable 13-5 overall, he is a combined 2-3 in the UFC, and now 1-1 in his second stint with the promotion.
What’s Next for Pearson?
A spot on the featherweight map. I’d like to see him fight Tyson Griffin, another rock-solid featherweight.
What’s next for Assuncao?
The aforementioned boxing lessons, and the loser of Mike Brown and Vagner Rocha.
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