The Next UFC Fight - Bring It On!

By Below The Belt on Feb 3, 10 06:42 PM

By UFC fighter Ross Pearson

I HAD a little bit of a lay-off over Christmas, but I'm back in the gym now preparing for my next fight - wherever and whenever that may be. I'm currently training six days a week with two sessions per day. That's pretty normal for me in between fights and it's nice to just keep ticking over and stay fit. I know that whenever I get the call with details of my next UFC fight I'll be more than ready for it.

It's all just about waiting for the call now. To be honest, I could be ready to fight next week if the UFC asked me. That's just the way I go about things. I like to stay in decent shape all year round and I like to feel prepared whenever the opportunity does arrive.

Having got a taste of UFC action at UFC 105 in Manchester, I'm now just craving more and more. It was a big relief to get my first UFC fight out of the way and it was such a rush to get the win and to perform in front of all those fans at the MEN Arena. I fought on the Saturday night and was then straight back in the gym by the Tuesday. I just didn't want it to stop.

I know there are areas of my game that still need working on. Everybody is pretty aware of the fact that the wrestling and jiu-jitsu in this country isn't up to scratch and is a few years behind places like America and Brazil. So obviously that requires a bit of work and concentration.

I consider myself a better fighter now than I was even for my last fight in November. That's the rate of my improvement. It's only been a couple of months since I fought and yet I can already tell that I've made big improvements in the gym. Also, my confidence level has now increased with that victory. I now know that I go into the Octagon and compete with the best lightweights in the world.

That fight's done now, as far as I'm concerned. I've put the videos away and am now concentrating on what is ahead. I'm also enjoying watching other fighters in action at the moment.

I've really been enjoying watching Paul 'Semtex' Daley lately. He's a great training partner, as well as a great fighter. I love his style, his attitude and just everything about the guy.

Knowing Paul for quite a while now, I knew what he was all about and knew what he could do. His impact on the UFC hasn't surprised me at all. He's a tremendous fighter and has unbelievable power. He's won two UFC fights by first-round stoppage and is now well on his way to a UFC title shot. He's done superbly so far and I just hope he can keep it up now.

Moving on, next week's UFC 109 main event between Randy Couture and Mark Coleman is very interesting to me, as I'm a big fan of both guys. Put age aside and I think we could be in for a really intriguing battle. Obviously it's not going to be a million miles-per-hour slugfest, but I think we could see a really good tactical match.

Randy enters the fight with good boxing and good Greco-Roman wrestling and Coleman also has heavy hands and good All-American wrestling. They both have similar styles and it will be interesting to see how Randy deals with Mark's double-leg takedowns. If Mark puts anyone on their back they are going to struggle, Randy included. Mark has very heavy ground-and-pound. However, I think Randy just has a bit more to offer in an MMA sense - he's just that little bit better in more areas.

The next big fight involving a Brit arrives on February 21st in Sydney, Australia. Michael 'The Count' Bisping faces MMA legend Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110 and I'm expecting another very good fight. I think Bisping can stay on his back-foot, use good lateral movement and counter-punching to give Wanderlei problems. Mike just cannot afford to stand and trade punches with Wanderlei, as we all know what Silva is capable of in a slugfest. Mike has to keep the fight at long range and stay switched on throughout. If he gets the game plan right and keeps moving, Mike can get the biggest win of his career so far. I can't wait to watch it!