Jonathan Pearce happy to announce his name with UFC London finish, eyes top 15 next
LONDON – Jonathan Pearce is starting to make some noise in the UFC featherweight division.
Pearce (11-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) notched his first performance bonus when he finished Makwan Amirkhani (17-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 208 in London. The 30-year-old rising contender woke the crowd up at The O2 by scoring the night’s first stoppage win, fully capitalizing on his first fight overseas.
“It feels good to get the first finish in London, and I feel like an international harvester now,” Pearce told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference.
He continued, “My biggest thing was to get on this mic and say ‘JSP’ and promote myself, and this is what I want to do with my life, so I’m happy living it out.”
Since dropping back down to featherweight, Pearce has won four consecutive fights. The Dana White Contender Series alum is now ready to take on some ranked opposition and is happy to have shown off his skills against Amirkhani.
“Maybe top 15, or we’ll see what goes from here, if someone calls me out,” Pearce said.
He continued, “That little slam that he (Amirkhani) did in the first round really, like, razzled me. I was trying to get my bearings back, and I couldn’t even find his wrist or anything. It was a lot of fun. It was everything that I wanted in a fight, maybe a little bit more stand up, but honestly when you come out with a finish you can’t ask for anything else.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.