Updated at 18.00
UFC VETERAN ROSS Pearson says another one of Ireland’s Ultimate Fighting Championship hopefuls is capable of earning a call-up from the leading promotion in mixed martial arts.
Pearson, who hails from Sunderland, is a training partner of Derry native Tommy Quinn, who’s also based in the north-east of England.
Quinn has a 6-2 record but has been hampered by inactivity due to injuries over the last two years. The 25-year-old welterweight returned to action in May but suffered a submission loss to highly-regarded Welshman Lew Long.
Nevertheless, Pearson — a 16-fight veteran of the UFC — is adamant that Quinn has the potential to put together the kind of winning streak required to increase Ireland’s presence in the sport’s big leagues.
The 30-year-old Englishman also believes that Quinn would benefit from some time spent with one of the top camps in the US, such as Alliance in California — a team Pearson is also a member of.
“Yeah, Tommy has 100% got what it takes to compete in the UFC,” Pearson told The42. “Tommy’s one of my main sparring partners and one of my main training partners. He’s got power, he’s got style, he’s got everything.
“He’s got a charismatic fight style, which is what people want to see. He’s an entertaining striker with knockout ability who enjoys going in there to finish fights — the same as me. That’s what fans want.
“For Tommy to take it to the next step, I think he has to come out to America and put a full training camp in with a big team like Alliance. The gym suits him perfectly, we’ve got a lot of good welterweights in the gym that Tommy could mix it up with. He’s got the ability to fight in the UFC but coming out here would take him to the next level. ”
Pearson will be looking to return to winning ways this Saturday night when he takes on Paul Felder at UFC 191 in Las Vegas. The former TUF winner is expecting an explosive bout as he aims to to rebound from a dull defeat to Evan Dunham in Glasgow in July.
Pearson said: “I kind of like Paul’s style, the way he fights. He’s got good kicks, good knees and good timing. I like his rhythm, I like the way he moves. It’s going to be an entertaining fight and it’ll be a question of which style works better on the feet.
“Will it be that slip-and-rip European kickboxing/boxing style of fighting, or is it going to be the American taekwondo/kickboxing style of fighting? It’s going to be an interesting battle on the feet to see who can get off and land first.”
Ross Pearson will be in action at UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2 live on BT Sport 2 from 1am on the morning of Sunday, 6 September.
