Should Pearson stay at 155 or go back to 145?

I know he's already stated he's staying at 155 which kind of makes this poll pointless, but none the less.

What do you think Ross should do?



I personally think he makes 145 a more interesting division. It's less stacked. It also has fewer of his countrymen in that division. I feel like adding more international diversity to any division is a good thing.

 

don't see him at the top of either division although he's a pretty solid fighter. gl to him.

i voted 155.

 

He said he felt like shit at FW, and he was only 1-1 at that weight. His standup is good, I think he can develop at LW into a very good fighter. You can't help how big you are and how well your body adapts to a cut. He should fight where he's most comfortable as long as he's not significantly outsized by his opponents, which he isn't really

 

155

He looked way better against Sotiropoulos than against Assuncao/Swanson.. So many lightweights cut big weight to make it down, it really dampers their speed.. There's a big quickness dump from 145 to 155.. As good of a striker as he is, in a sport that's seeing an increase in wrestlers by the minute, I believe the division where he can out-quick most of the guys is the place to be for him

 

He may be the best example of someone cutting too far down...The toll it took on him was painfully obvious.

 

145, I don't think he's overly relevant at either weight but he'd be a lot more competitive with the top guys at 145. He was giving Cub a good fight and has beaten Siver who managed to get ranked there. He'd be blown out by all the top guys at LW and frankly I can't even see him cracking the top 20 there.

 

Stay at 155. He looks better at 155. Healthier. Plus it's not like he was a bad lightweight. I personally thought he beat Edson Barboza.

 

He was giving Cub a fight while looking noticeably slower than he did at 155 which was extremely surprising. He just looked deflated and struggling to really do anything. Siver is the total opposite, and he looks faster, and stronger than he's ever looked. If they ever fought at 145 I'd take Siver without thinking twice.

Keep in mind. He gave Barbosa everything he could possibly handle at 155, and looked like a completely different person at 145.

 

155

 

OK cool, let him look faster at LW while going nowhere fast. He's middle of the pack at LW.

 

I think he should stay at 155.
* The division gets more publicity
* He cuts less weight
* He can use his speed more at 155
* Also I always like to see a smaller fighter in a weightclass

 

he looks much better at 155

 

He doesnt have a high ceiling at either, IMO. But there wasn't a need to drop to 145lbs....he wasn't really undersized, he hung with and some feel, beat, Barboza in a straight-up striking match. He looked sluggish at 145lbs, not worth it.

 

He was slower at 145 than he was at 155, fighting against faster guys

155 is the best place for him, he proved in the Barboza fight that he's probably one of the best pure strikers in that division

I expect him to be a win one, lose one type fo guy for a while until he gets good enough to put a string of wins together and sneaks into the top 15ish but I doubt he'll get any higher than that at any point of his career

Talented bloke though

 

The improvement Ross demonstrated between being in TUF and then the final where he won it was quite significant. I think too many fighters focus on what weight class they are in rather than improving their techniques and skillsets.

If he focused on improving his skills and worried less about his weight then I believe he could be a contender at LW. He just needs to be training with the best people around. Only then will he improve at the pace that's necessary to hang in the upper echelons of MMA. His striking is good, but that's just not enough. His striking needs to be world class if he wants to get to the top, and furthermore it needs to be married with a significant grappling game. Those two issues should be the primary ones for Ross.

He got caught a couple of times and that can happen to anyone, but he also thoroughly outstruck Siver - one of the best strikers in the division, so he should be confident in his abilities.

Improvement
Improvement
Improvement

Forget weight.

 

Kind of a pointless contribution here as this is the case either way. Is he ever going to be an elite Featherweight? No, not just because of his skillset but because he already said he feels like shit fighting at that weight.

 

What's other? Move to 170? lol

 

People always ask, but there's always someone who feels like they haven't been represented in the options given. If you've been around Sherdog for any amount of time you know these idiots always come up w/ something to bitch about. Other is for those people.

 

As I've already said, I think he's much more competitive at FW.