His grandfather would have been proud. Not just because Pearce returned from serious injuries after suffering a blind-side attack in a gym back home, but that he made a commitment to this sport and stuck with it.
“He was like, if you’re good at doing it and you like doing it, then follow it,” said Pearce. “He saw how good I was at it and how much I enjoyed it, and he was like, go for it. You can come back and we can go build houses or you can go and fight people. But he knew I had wrestled and I had sacrificed. I’d come in for Christmas dinner and I wouldn’t be eating nothing but the eggs and the green beans. He’d ask why and I said I gotta win State. He always kinda understood at an early age that I was probably gonna do something like this.”
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And here he is, on the verge of big things in the UFC, just like he always hoped. And while he has momentum on his side and the experience edge on Octagon newcomer Rodriguez, Pearce isn’t discounting his foe.
“It’s who fights better that night,” Pearce said. “So I still have to show up that night, and I think I learned that with Lauzon. I feel like if I fought Lauzon again, nine out of ten times that was just the one time he caught me and you’ve got to take every fight like it could be your last fight, because it could be.”
Not likely for Pearce, who hopes to have a busy year.
“I want a Top 15 ranking and stay undefeated at 145 pounds (in the UFC). I’m just looking to finish everybody I fight, and whoever they give me, I’m ready. I don’t think I’m quite where my goals are set yet. I think I’m just getting warmed up.”
Don’t miss a single round of UFC Fight Night: Walker vs Hill, live from the UFC APEX on Saturday, February 19 on ESPN+. Prelims begin at 4pm ET/1pm PT. Main card begins at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
