Jonathan Pearce
JSP
USA
Suffers third straight defeat
Pearce lost to Pat Sabatini via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:06 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This felt like an unofficial featherweight eliminator of sorts, and Pearce couldn't even last a round. He gave up a pair of Sabatini takedowns on three attempts before tapping out late in the frame. Not without talent, it has all fallen apart on Pearce in the span of the last 11 months. He's lost three fights in a row dating back to last November. Pearce is still just 32 years of age and still has some gas left in the tank, but you are what your record says you are in this sport, and Pearce's record suggests he may be handed his walking papers.
This felt like an unofficial featherweight eliminator of sorts, and Pearce couldn't even last a round. He gave up a pair of Sabatini takedowns on three attempts before tapping out late in the frame. Not without talent, it has all fallen apart on Pearce in the span of the last 11 months. He's lost three fights in a row dating back to last November. Pearce is still just 32 years of age and still has some gas left in the tank, but you are what your record says you are in this sport, and Pearce's record suggests he may be handed his walking papers.
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Gets Sabatini at UFC Vegas 98
Pearce will take on Pat Sabatini in a featherweight matchup at UFC Vegas 98 on October 12, Nolan King of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Pearce rode a five-fight winning streak into 2022 but has now dropped his last two, most recently falling to David Onama -- who missed weight for the fight -- via unanimous decision. He'll now look to bounce back against Sabatini, who has lost two of his last three and hasn't competed since November of 2023. Pearce has advantages of four inches in height and an inch in reach, plus is a much higher-volume striker. Both men heavily feature wrestling, with Pearce averaging 5.24 takedowns per 15 minutes after logging five completed takedowns his last time out.
Pearce rode a five-fight winning streak into 2022 but has now dropped his last two, most recently falling to David Onama -- who missed weight for the fight -- via unanimous decision. He'll now look to bounce back against Sabatini, who has lost two of his last three and hasn't competed since November of 2023. Pearce has advantages of four inches in height and an inch in reach, plus is a much higher-volume striker. Both men heavily feature wrestling, with Pearce averaging 5.24 takedowns per 15 minutes after logging five completed takedowns his last time out.
Drops decision to heavy opponent
Pearce lost to David Onama via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC on ESPN 55 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
The lone positive for Pearce on the evening is that he will walk away with 20 percent of Onama's purse after the latter missed weight by 2.5 pounds Friday morning. As expected, Pearce was entirely reliant on his wrestling game for success. He did connect on 5-of-14 attempts, but the good work he did in that area was essentially negated by the five reversals Onama managed to pull off. On the feet, he had all sorts of difficultly with the length of his opponent. "JSP" won five in a row from November 2020 to December 2022, but has lost his last two. There's a bunch of talent here, but set to turn 32 years of age May 1, Pearce is running out of time to make an impact at 145 pounds.
The lone positive for Pearce on the evening is that he will walk away with 20 percent of Onama's purse after the latter missed weight by 2.5 pounds Friday morning. As expected, Pearce was entirely reliant on his wrestling game for success. He did connect on 5-of-14 attempts, but the good work he did in that area was essentially negated by the five reversals Onama managed to pull off. On the feet, he had all sorts of difficultly with the length of his opponent. "JSP" won five in a row from November 2020 to December 2022, but has lost his last two. There's a bunch of talent here, but set to turn 32 years of age May 1, Pearce is running out of time to make an impact at 145 pounds.
Fighting heavy opponent
Pearce will matchup against a heavy David Onama during Saturday's showdown at UFC Vegas 91, MMA Junkie reports.
ANALYSIS
Pearce will claim 20 percent of David Onama's fight purse after the 29-year-old American came in 2.5 pounds over the featherweight limit. The 31-year-old fighter, who lost his most recent bout with Joanderson Brito, will look to get back on track this weekend.
Pearce will claim 20 percent of David Onama's fight purse after the 29-year-old American came in 2.5 pounds over the featherweight limit. The 31-year-old fighter, who lost his most recent bout with Joanderson Brito, will look to get back on track this weekend.
Booked against Onama
Pearce will fight David Onama at UFC Vegas 91 on April 27, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Pearce saw his five-fight win streak come to an end in his last fight against Joanderson Brito, and he'll now look to get back in the win column versus Onama. Pearce will not have momentum on his side, but his opponent will enter the fight having fought just once in the past 12 months.
Pearce saw his five-fight win streak come to an end in his last fight against Joanderson Brito, and he'll now look to get back in the win column versus Onama. Pearce will not have momentum on his side, but his opponent will enter the fight having fought just once in the past 12 months.
Winning streak snapped at five
Pearce lost to Joanderson Brito via submission (Ninja Choke) at 3:54 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Pearce is going to be furious with this result. Both men had their moments in a back-and-forth opening round, but "JSP" appeared to get the better of the action. With Brito clearly tiring, Pearce landed an easy takedown early in Round 2 and kept his opponent pinned to the mat most of the frame. Brito eventually worked his way back to his feet, and Pearce left his neck exposed. He was tapping out moments later. The loss snaps a five-fight winning streak for the Tennessee native and is his first defeat since his UFC debut against Joe Lauzon back in October 2019.
Pearce is going to be furious with this result. Both men had their moments in a back-and-forth opening round, but "JSP" appeared to get the better of the action. With Brito clearly tiring, Pearce landed an easy takedown early in Round 2 and kept his opponent pinned to the mat most of the frame. Brito eventually worked his way back to his feet, and Pearce left his neck exposed. He was tapping out moments later. The loss snaps a five-fight winning streak for the Tennessee native and is his first defeat since his UFC debut against Joe Lauzon back in October 2019.