• Xenforo Cloud is upgrading us to version 2.3.8 on Monday February 16th, 2026 at 12:00 AM PST. Expect a temporary downtime during this process. More info here

Was Ryan Couture Thrown to the Wolves?

would have been interesting to see him work his way up. maybe they were hoping for a big push?
 
Meh. I thought he was doing well, maybe even winning until he got caught.
 
Anyone at the top level is a WOLF compared to Couture. He simply cant fight on this level.
 
Thrown to the wolves, or not recieving special treatment due to his last name?

Regardless, last time I checked, Pearson wasn't exactly considered a "wolf".
 
He did alright in round 1. But debuting in the UFC as "co-main" overseas against a veteran was a little too much at the same time maybe...
 
Pearson isn't even a top-20 fighter.

Considering the LW division is easily the most stacked division in MMA, I reckon Ross Pearson is in the fringes of being top 10 and will give anyone a decent fight in that top 10.
 
If his name wasn't Couture, would people really care about debuting against a sub-top-20 opponent in the UFC?
 
Anybody who saw his last several fights knew he wasn't anywhere close to being ready for that level of competition, I'm not saying Pearson is god status but he's at least on Noons level
 
How is Pearson a step up? Because he is British and was on the ultimate fighter. Noons and Pearson are on the same level. Hell I wouldn't be surprised to see Noons whoop Pearson.

Who, of note, has Noons beaten in the last 5 or so years? Been quite a while since he beat Yves Edwards and Nick Diaz (who he didn't really even beat, just cut him).

Pearson has beaten Siver and Sotiropoulos. Also, he just whipped the shit out of Couture who decisioned Noons. Deserved or not, I'd say their recent performances against a common opponent should show who is better.

What puts Noons on Pearson's level, losing a bunch of decisions?
 
Kinda, yeah. Pearson isn't a "top" guy, but he's better than Noons and has a lot of UFC XP.
 
At this level, these fighters should be ready for anything that comes their way. Randy's son got mauled by a legit competitor in Pearson. This is the UFC for crying out loud. If he can't handle the competition he should not be in the UFC.
 
Lot of people getting caught up in the whole "Pearson isn't a wolf thing".

Look at his resume and then look at Couture's. Then watch both of them fight. Pearson is a wolf compared to Couture. Fought in the UFC 10 times and fought much better competition than Couture has.

And, sure enough, Couture got his ass whipped.
 
not sure if pearson is a step up from noons atm, he as looked great since moving back to LW thou.
 
At this level, these fighters should be ready for anything that comes their way. Randy's son got mauled by a legit competitor in Pearson. This is the UFC for crying out loud. If he can't handle the competition he should not be in the UFC.

I think this is the ultimate solution to this debate.
 
I believe he WAS thrown to the wolves because Dana doesn't get along with his pops
 
I believe he WAS thrown to the wolves because Dana doesn't get along with his pops

Wait happened to Couture is what happens to a lot of guys making their debuts in the UFC- being pit against a decent but not great opponent. Couture is not a special case.
 
It certainly looked that way to me but the UFC does this sometimes. Give them a hard fight out of the gate and if they lose then at least it was to a good fighter and then they can give them a lesser guy.

If you give them a lesser guy out of the gate and they lose there is really nowhere to go. I think it was a good first fight for Ryan to get into the swing of things.

this makes sense
 
If Couture can't beat Pearson I fear for his long term outlook...
 
Back
Top