Jorge Masvidal defeated Ross Pearson in UFC 201 by unanimous decision.

Ross Pearson has had a busy year, and Friday night at UFC 201, he faced off against highly regarded American Jorge Masvidal for the fourth time in just eight months.

The British fighter’s task was made more difficult by the fact that he entered the bout as a last-minute replacement with only three weeks’ notice and chose to compete at welterweight (170 pounds) as opposed to his customary weight class of lightweight (155lbs).

Let’s just say that despite the overwhelming odds against him, Ross Pearson started strong.

Early on, “The Real Deal” occupied the centre of the Octagon and used body and head strikes to put Masvidal on the back foot. The turning point in the opening round occurred when Masvidal attempted a flying knee.

Unfortunately for the British fighter, Masvidal managed to escape and when they got back to their feet, Masvidal was the one who landed some hard body blows as they broke out from the clinch.

Jorge Masvidal won the first round, and in the second round, he turned the heat up to 11 when he dropped Pearson with a huge left hook that put him right to the mat.

Jorge Masvidal was stopped by Ross Pearson’s strong left hook, but the American never had a chance to concern him too much because he was continually slipping the other combinations.

The fight went to the judges after a fairly even final five minutes, and Masvidal won 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

Given the circumstances—he accepted the fight on such short notice and at a higher weight class—Pearson made an outstanding effort.