Jonathan Pearce and Pat Sabatini will collide this fall.
At three-round bout between the two featherweights is set for UFC on ESPN 63 on Oct. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie. The people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Pearce (14-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) aims to snap a two-fight skid. After a five-fight winning streak in the UFC from 2020 to 2022, Pearce hit a bumps in the road against Joanderson Brito in November 2023 and David Onama in May 2024.
Sabatini (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will return to action for the first time in 11 months, since a knockout loss to Diego Lopes. Prior to that fight, Sabatini defeated Lucas Almeida by submission.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Oct. 12 includes:
- Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
- Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
- Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares
- Cory McKenna vs. Polyana Viana
- Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
- Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
- Chris Barnett vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC on ESPN 63.