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[H0SS]

Source

Pearson (14-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com (MMAjunkie.com) that Sotiropoulos (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) punched his assistant boxing coach off-camera over a Twitter beef between he and the Aussie.

The boxing coach, Erin Beach, then knocked out Sotiropoulos.

"That's why I said I lost all respect for him and that's why I didn't shake his hands afterwards," Pearson said. "That's why I'm not his friend now – because he acted unprofessional."

Beach works out of the Alliance MMA training center in San Diego, where Pearson does his fight camps. He was unreachable for comment.

After knocking Sotiropoulos down several times in the UFC on FX 6 headliner, Pearson cinched his win with a stiff jab that took Sotiropoulos off his feet in the third round.

The two served as opposing coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Australia vs. Team U.K.," which concluded at the event with the Australians and Brits splitting "TUF" crowns in the lightweight and welterweight divisions.

UFC on FX 6 took place Saturday at Gold Coast Convention Centre in Gold Coast, Australia. The event's main-card aired live on FX while prelims aired on FUEL TV.

Pearson couldn't remember exactly when the incident took place but said it was midway through filming, which, for the six-week filming, means it was in early August.

Pearson said he and Sotiropoulos had been arguing on Twitter, and Beach had inserted himself into the conversation at some point.

Pearson said Sotiropoulos blindsided Beach, who began fighting back. The incident happened "off-camera" on the reality show set in Sydney, he said.

The scrap drew an instant response from UFC President Dana White, who raised Pearson and his team on the phone.

"Dana chewed our heads off," Pearson said. "George was acting unprofessional. I get paid to fight; I don't fight in the streets for free."

While Sotiropoulss' alleged KO would not have fallen within a time frame to preclude him from competing against Pearson, it could have severely affected his preparation if he allowed himself to recover.

A few months ago Dana said that the backstage portion of this season of TUF was the craziest ever, but he wouldn't elaborate why. Guess now we know...

[CtGreat]

Damn....well I guess that's by he's the boxing coach haha.

[joeodd2]

Rule #257 don't pick a fist fight with a boxing coach.

[The8thPlague]

I've always liked Pearson and I DID like Sot before the filming of Smashes. But George came off as a real douchebag on the show with no sense of humor.
Not too much of a fan of his anymore.

[lwbrewer]

Thoughts Sots started high on my expectations and has fallen ever since. I guess he was close to his potential when he showed up to the UFC. Person figured he was just another boxer that never will get to mid level status. He there now so see how much more he can climb. Don't expect #1 but above mid tier looks likely to me.

[BonesKnows]

soo credit pearsons boxing coach for sots glass jaw?? haha

all joking aside pearson looked very good last night and sotiropoulous didnt look good at all during that fight

[W.Silva>C.Norris]

Originally Posted by BonesKnows

soo credit pearsons boxing coach for sots glass jaw?? haha

all joking aside pearson looked very good last night and sotiropoulous didnt look good at all during that fight

I dont think Id go that far. Sots was landing a lot of good punches, and managed to recover and hold on in a few pretty sticky situations.

[BonesKnows]

Originally Posted by W.Silva>C.Norris

I dont think Id go that far. Sots was landing a lot of good punches, and managed to recover and hold on in a few pretty sticky situations.

im going to go back and watch it again, it had been a long day and that was the only fight i was able to catch yesterday. From what i remember, pearson rocked sot's roughly 4-5 times in 3 rounds, he did recover well but at no point did i think he was in that fight

[H0SS]

I don't think Sots did as bad as people think he did. He did take Ross' back at the end of the first round. And I thought he was slightly edging Pearson out in the striking department in the 2nd round, until he got caught a few times at the very end of it.

[VimyRidge]

Originally Posted by The8thPlague

I've always liked Pearson and I DID like Sot before the filming of Smashes. But George came off as a real douchebag on the show with no sense of humor.
Not too much of a fan of his anymore.

He was a complete douche when he was a competitor on TUF a few years back. I love his ground game, and love watching him fight, but he is a hard guy to cheer for.

I thought he didn't look that bad last night. As Hoss mentioned, he looked good striking in the 2nd. If he had gotten the fight to the ground again earlier in a round, the fight would have been over, the difference in their ground games was glaring.


Even though I am not a big fan of Sots, he did show a lot of heart coming back in the 1st from being rocked.