UFC 141 Results: Ross Pearson Impresses Against Junior Assuncao

When we saw Ross Pearson in August, he was engaged in a tremendous fight against Edson Barboza at UFC 134. He ended up losing a split decision, but Pearson walked away from the Octagon with absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Pearson fought another great fight at UFC 141 on Friday night, but this time he was able to walk away with a unanimous decision victory against Junior Assuncao.

It didn't start well for Pearson, though. He gave up his back to Assuncao in the first round and had to wriggle his way out of it to get back on his feet. As the round ticked down, it became more and more apparent that Pearson was going to have to do something to salvage the round.

And he did. When Assuncao moved to score another takedown, Pearson got him square in the body with a kick. That got Assuncao's attention, and Pearson escaped the first round without further damage.

At the start of the second round, Pearson immediately looked to turn the tide of the fight. He came out aggressively trying to land punches and kicks. Eventually, he was able to get Assuncao with a punch to his body. 

Assuncao was able to reestablish himself, but he left the second round with a cut under his eye.

The third round started in much the same way as the second. Pearson came out swinging, but this time Assuncao was ready for him. He nailed him with a sharp jab and immediately went looking for takedowns. When his takedowns failed, he was cognizant to settle for strikes.

But with roughly two minutes remaining, Pearson caught Assuncao with a knee to the face. That opened the door for Pearson to land a flurry of hard hits, and Assuncao was lucky he could still stand by the time the third round came to an end.

Pearson hardly dominated the fight, but it was clear enough to the judges that he got the better of Assuncao throughout the three rounds. The unanimous decision was an easy call, though Assuncao didn't seem too thrilled with it.

So after losing two of his last three bouts, Pearson is back on the winning path. It's certainly worth noting that his bout with Assuncao was his first at Featherweight. Now that he has a win in his pocket, perhaps he'll start making some noise within the division. 

One win doesn't necessarily equal a trend. But until further notice, Pearson is trending upwards.