Ross Pearson has been in the UFC for nine years and sports a 12-11 UFC record. Most people would look at that record, his age of 33 years of age, and the fact that he has lost four out of his last five fights, and they may conclude that Pearson is a career-long journeyman whose days in the UFC are numbered. Well, Ross Pearson is not one of those people. In fact, all the hardships behind those numbers are just scars that have made Pearson both stronger and wiser, Pearson believes:
“I’m 33 now, and this is my last run at something big,” Pearson told MMAjunkie ahead of his bout with John Makdessi at UFC on Fox 30 this weekend. “I told my wife that. I want to give it my all. I want to give it 100 percent. I’ve been through the highs and the lows, and I know what it takes. I know what it takes physically, mentally. I know what it takes on the toll on your family. If you want to be the best in the world at this sport you have to be selfish and do what it takes to get there. Nothing else can come in between this.”
Pearson would then stop beating behind the bush and be bold enough to speak life into the “this” he refers to, which is a UFC title run.
“This is my last chance, my last run at going for gold,” Pearson said. “You might think I’m crazy, but everyone else thought Mike Bisping was crazy. You’ve got to have that self-belief, and I have that self-belief.”
And although Pearson has a total of 34 MMA fights, Pearson insists that he is not slowing down:
“I’m 33, but I feel like I’m better than I was three years ago,” Pearson said. “Confidence, my weight’s low, I’m eating, training hard, body is good. I don’t have any injuries. I’ve got a lot of experience. I’ve experienced the highs, I’ve experienced the lows. I know where I’m at right now, and I’m confident.
“Realizing why I do this, how long I want to keep doing this for, what I want to achieve out of this sport is all down to me. I’m in a good place. I’m confident, I’m excited, and I’m looking forward to the fight.”
Pearson insists that he is not in this sport to be a journeyman, and he knows what it will take to rewrite that narrative of his career:
“If I win-lose-win-lose (I won’t get there). I might be around the UFC fighting at this level, but I’m not going nowhere to get to (the next level). … If I don’t win, I don’t think I’m going to get past this level. What’s the point of trying to do all these things? Being away five weeks from my family, doing this, training this, spending all this money before I’ve even made any money for fights, just trying to get to the next level.”
Do you believe Ross Pearson can still get to that next level or to UFC gold?
