This Saturday, Australia’s very own George Sotiropoulos takes on Britain’s Ross Pearson at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on the main event of UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos versus Pearson.
The fight marks Sotiropoulos’ first bout in almost 18 months. In his last go-around, he lost to Rafael Dos Anjos via knockout in just 59 seconds, and string of injuries left him sidelined for the rest of 2011 and most of 2012.
So what does this fight mean for Georgie?
This event marks the third time that Sotiropoulos will get the chance to entertain Aussie fans under the UFC banner. The first time came in 2010 at UFC 110 against Joe Stevenson, where Sotiropoulos captured the unanimous decision and ‘Fight of the Night’ honours.
The following year at UFC 127, Sotiropoulos fell short in a unanimous decision loss to Dennis Sever. This Saturday at the Gold Coast Sotiropoulos gets a chance to put on a show against a fighter who is rarely in a boring fight.
For Georgie, it’s a chance to silence the notoriously cocky Brit. For Aussie fans, it’s a chance to one-up the Poms in a different playing field.
When Sotiropoulos first came into the UFC, he cemented his status as a contender with a six-fight win streak over two years. The streak ended with the loss to Sever and subsequent injuries have left the fighter of Greek-descent winless in over two years.
Though Pearson is far from a top name in the lightweight division, this fight will be the beginning of George’s foray back into contender status. At 35-years old, the Melbourne-born fighter doesn’t have a whole lot of time on his hands.
A decisive victory over Pearson could lead to some big name fights.
To win this fight, Sotiropoulos will need to take it to the ground where his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt will be an advantage. This won’t be an easy task against the scrappy Pearson, who comes out swinging in every bout.
Sotiropoulos will need to close the distance on the shorter Brit, wear him out in the clinches and take the fight to the ground. From there he can utilise his vast submission skills to control the fight and seal the victory.
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