UFC 201: Ross Pearson vows to take Jorge Masvidal out

Britain's Ross Pearson takes his first ever UFC fight at welterweight this weekend at UFC 201

Ross Pearson takes on Jorge Masvidal in his fourth fight of the year at UFC 201 (Getty)

British UFC star Ross Pearson takes to the Octagon for the fourth time already this year when he faces Jorge Masvidal at UFC 201 this weekend.

While Pearson has avoided the frustration of inactivity, the man from Sunderland has had an up and down time of late dealing with a record that has seen him go 4-5-1 in his last bouts with wins always being followed by losses.

His most recent fight was a loss to UFC debutant Will Brooks just earlier this month at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in Las Vegas. That night it was another frustrating decision loss and Pearson is hoping to use this short turn around to get back straight back into action and winning ways.

"I fought just two or three weeks ago in Vegas and came out of the fight totally unhurt," Pearson explained. "I feel like I didn't lose the fight to be honest. I just ran out of time and on the judge's scorecards, it's hard to impress them over three rounds.

"After that fight, we then decided to stay in California for two weeks as a holiday and we found out that Masvidal's opponent had pulled. I was healthy and I was fit so we decided why not just take the fight if I'm here. The opportunity was given to me by Joe Silva and I jumped at it."

Pearson is hoping to get back to winning ways after defeat by Will Brooks last time out (Getty)

Taking the fight at short notice means for the first time Pearson will be moving up a weight class to fight at welterweight. Fighting at 170lbs means Pearson won't have to cut weight for the fight which was obviously something he was overjoyed with.

"We'd obviously been on holiday and I just wanted to go enjoy my training and enjoy my fighting," Pearson said. "This whole period for me has been about enjoyment and having fun. I'm not taking myself seriously at welterweight, I'm not considering myself a welterweight contender.

"I walk around at 175-180lbs outside of camp and when I'm in camp I'm usually 170lbs. I usually then cut from 170lbs to 155lbs for my fight but this week it's all about fun. I don't have to do that bullsh*t weight cut and cut 15lbs in the last week, I just want to test myself. I'm a fighter and I'll step up and fight anyone, anytime, any place, anywhere."

His opponent this weekend, Jorge Masvidal, is another man that has suffered disappointing results of late with three defeats coming out of his last four fights. Despite Masvidal's poor run of form, Pearson is well aware he will be a tricky opponent on Saturday night.

"I think he's a bit a tactician guy," Pearson said. "I think he finds his rhythm with his jab and he has this awkward boxing style that isn't easy to read. He mixes things together well though and he transitions pretty good.

"I think he's a very talented technical fighters and he's been in the game a long time. He's very experienced so I think it's going to be an interesting fight. I think he is a one-round fighter though. If he loses the first round and everything doesn't go his way then he kind of declines and that's how I see the fight going.

"I see him coming out hard in the first round but I'm going to also come out fast and give him a lot of trouble. He's going to get hit back with a lot of shots and I see me landing so many shots I'm going to grind him out and take him out eventually."

Watch Ross in action at UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley live on BT Sport 2 from 1am BST on the morning of Sunday, July 31^st or catch the Early Prelims from 11.30pm BST on Saturday exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.