Our first real glimpse at the Brazilian wunderkind Edson Barboza came at UFC 123 last November. As we watched him pick apart Mike Lullo with leg kicks (leg kicks that eventually stopped the bout in the third round) you might have gotten the indication that a new star was emerging. At 25, Barboza needs to continue to development, it’s a cliché that we all hear, but he’s light years ahead of so many fighters that have been in the game 5-7 years long. After his “Fight of the Night” performance with Anthony Njokuani at UFC 128, we know that Barboza isn’t afraid to bang. He’s going to need to do that with Ross Pearson
Striking is something that Ross Pearson does well. In fact, if you didn’t actually look at his record, you would think he’s only in slugfests, his name just evokes those sorts of assumptions. That feeling might also lead one to believe that he isn’t capable of intelligent grappling or that he has no ground game. Take for instance his submission loss to Cole Miller last September. When I mention that he was submitted with a rear naked choke, you might not seem surprised. But you should be. Pearson has 5 submission wins among his 12 career victories.
In a battle of two good strikers, the man with better leg kicks always wins. Barboza’s brutal attack will slow down Pearson’s striking, keeping him from doing anything save for staying alive. If the Brit takes too much damage early on, he isn’t going to make it to the later stanzas. In order for Pearson to win this fight, he has to take it to the ground and test the ground skills of the young Brazilian. That might be an unwise choice – to meet a Brazilian jiu jitsu purple belt on the mat – but with only 1 submission victory on his record, this might be his only choice. He’ll need to grind Barboza into the mat. Otherwise, the man from Rio will have his hand raised in his victory.
