Melvin Guillard and Ross Pearson Can Try to Finish the Fight at Next UFC London on March 8

At UFC Fight Night 30 at the Phones4U Arena in Manchester, England, brawling Brit Ross Pearson and American slugger Melvin Guillard met in a main card showdown.

The fight didn’t last long, unfortunately, as Guillard unleashed a bevy of knees to the face of Pearson during an early flurry in the first round. As brutal and pinpoint as the knees were, they also came during a scramble in which Pearson was lifting his hands up and down off the mat in attempt to stay grounded, and in the process making Guillard’s knee attempts illegal.

With a giant gash from the knees etched into his skull, the second of which referee Marc Goddard deemed illegal, the bout was stopped and ruled a “No Contest.”

Both fighters were visibly dejected, as were the fans in attendance and the viewing audience at home. Pearson and Guillard each immediately said they wanted to fight again, and come to a final resolution in the Octagon.

And they got their wish.

It was announced that both fighters would receive their win and show money – a nice gesture by the company, no doubt. But as the UFC’s Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa Garry Cook said at the post-fight press conference, that wouldn’t be the only bit of good news these two fiery combatants would receive on Saturday night.

“This matchmaking thing is getting pretty easy,” said Cook with a wry smile. “So I think we’ll put Melvin and Ross together again on March the 8th in London.”

Earlier in the press conference, the March 8 card was announced to host a light heavyweight title eliminator between Alexander Gustafsson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. With the news of Guillard vs. Pearson 2, U.K. fans have another quality match-up to top the card that is still roughly four months away.

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