If there’s any MMA fighter that can talk about how it feels to be in different weight divisions, it would be Ross Pearson.
Pearson, who went against Francisco Trinaldo last UFC Fight Night 81, had the chance to fight in two different divisions five to six years ago.
With having a first-hand experience on the two different weight divisions, Pearson admitted that he’s really not sure if Conor McGregor would be able to wing it when gets inside the cage a lightweight MMA fighter.
“I do believe there are fights at 155 that he can win. I do believe that. And I do believe that he’s a natural 55er, but he’s got the ability where he can cut weight down to 145 and feel good, and fight at 145. I’ve got the ability to cut the weight to 145, I just didn’t have the ability to feel good. It just wasn’t my style. I couldn’t do that. Yet 45 is where he shines — his height, his reach, his movement, his boxing skills, it’s just all lined up well for him. He’s done big things at 45. But at 55, it all gets squashed. It’s a different world,” Pearson said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting.
McGregor was able to win over long-reigning bantamweight champion, Jose Aldo, back at UFC 194 in just 13 seconds into the fight. Now that he has finally got a hold of the title belt, McGregor is hoping he can change the UFC history by being a double-title holder. If in case he wins over Dos Anjos this coming March, McGregor promised the division that he will continue to defend his title in both divisions regularly.
This kind of confidence actually made McGregor one of the most dominant MMA fighters this year. In fact, McGregor is being admired not only in the US and Ireland, but he has the support of fans from England as well.
“Yeah, I mean he’s turned into a global sensation. He’s done the things he has to do and he’s done. And no one can argue anything against him. He’s done well. I wish I had that brash bravado, that ego, but I haven’t got that, you know what I mean? I’ve just got the hard work, grinding type of style. And that’s the type of person I am. But I think it’s a whole different world for him at 55. Money definitely speaks, and [the Dos Anjos fight] a big fight to sell. It’s going to make a lot of money. The UFC obviously wants it. The UFC is kind of backing him and giving him a lot of leeway to play with. But obviously I don’t think it’s going to be a Floyd Mayweather deal where he picks and chooses who he fights, where he lines them up strategically so he wins every fight. That’s just not how it works in MMA. There’s too many ways to win, and too many ways to lose, and there’s too many good guys. So if that’s what his plan is, I don’t think it’s going to work,” Pearson revealed.
