This is why you wear headgear, kids.
UFC lightweight Ross Pearson recently knocked out his sparring partner with a left high kick, and the carnage was captured via Pearson’s Instagram for the world to enjoy.
As the video, which surfaced on Reddit MMA, shows, Pearson’s training partner is simply no match for the veteran professional on the feet.
Pearson tags him with a nice left hook to the liver, then follows up this attack with a high kick that shuts off the lights and prompts an apology from the English UFC combatant.
Whoops.
Since winning the lightweight division of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom, Pearson has gone 6-3 inside the UFC Octagon with one no-contest.
Half of those victories came via knockout, a fact that has earned Pearson a reputation as a hard-hitting KO artist within the lightweight division.
Now, the former The Ultimate Fighter winner will face 20-fight UFC veteran Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov June 7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
If Pearson can recreate his training room magic against Sanchez, fans and critics would be shocked. Sanchez has never been legitimately knocked out in 31 career professional bouts, and his only loss via TKO came from a cut sustained during a lightweight title fight against BJ Penn.
Needless to say, “The Dream” “The Nightmare” is tough to put out, and Pearson will have a significant task on his hands June 7 if he hopes to finish Sanchez before the final horn sounds.
Still, anything can happen. When the cage door closes, all bets are off, and any number of results are possible.
If this recent video is any indication, Pearson’s knockout power is fully intact, and Sanchez should exercise caution if he wades into the Brit’s striking zone.
He might just get put out with a high kick. It wouldn’t be Pearson’s first, after all.
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