UFC ON FX 6: December 14, 2012 Australia UFC Lightweight Contender George Sotiropoulos (-145) Profile: A proprietor of the 10th Planet brand of Jiu-Jitsu, George Sotiropoulos (14-4) is deadly on the ground. The 35-year-old Australian smothers his opponents and uses his freakishly long limbs to wear them down into an eventual decision. Of his 14 wins, he has eight submissions, and he is good enough to get a submission from just about every position in the cage. After an impressive win over surging Joe Lauzon at UFC 123, “George Sots” has fallen on hard times, losing to Dennis Siver via unanimous decision at UFC 127 and by a devastating knockout at the hands of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 132. Sots will be looking to string a few more together and get back to his usual “grind-em-out”‘ business after he serves as a coach for his home country on The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. Britain. UFC Lightweight Contender Ross Pearson (+115) Profile: Ross Pearson (13-6) saw a fast start to his UFC career by winning The Ultimate Fighter 9 lightweight tournament and following it up with a 3-2 lightweight record. After weighing his options, the 27-year-old Brit decided to make the cut to featherweight at UFC 141 against Junior Assuncao and did so successfully with a decision win. With less of a size disadvantage against his opponents, he focused on what he does best, which is putting on entertaining fights. However, he suffered a second-round knockout loss against Cub Swanson on June 22 and will look to rebound in his return to lightweight after coaching the British team on The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. Britain. The always-exciting Pearson has won two Fight of the Night awards and utilizes a varied offense of boxing mixed with judo. Opening UFC on FX 6 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Sotiropoulos a small -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100) against Pearson, who opened as a +115 underdog (bet $100 to win $115) according to the MMA odds. This is a huge fight for both Sotiropoulos and Pearson, who are each coming off losses and need to reestablish themselves as contenders in the lightweight division. Pearson originally looked like his size would present mismatches for his opponents in the featherweight division, but his surprising loss to Swanson as a solid favorite proved otherwise. Now he is back at lightweight against a larger foe in Sotiropolous, who has suffered consecutive losses following an eight-fight winning streak that was capped by a second-round submission of Joe Lauzon. Sotiropolous will have a two-inch height advantage and three-inch edge in reach, which could pose some serious problems for Pearson.
