Ross Pearson to face Francisco Trinaldo at Jan. 17 UFC Fight Night event

Ross Pearson returns to the UFC Octagon to face Francisco Trinaldo at UFC Fight Night 81.

BREAKING! @RossTheRealDeal will face Francisco Trinaldo in a lightweight battle on Jan 17! https://t.co/ytRyv1Mftv pic.twitter.com/b9RTj5JU42

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 29, 2015

That event, which is headlined by a bantamweight title scrap between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz, takes place Jan. 17 at Boston's TD Garden Arena.

Pearson (18-9, 1 no-contest) enters the bout fresh off a razor-thin split-decision victory over Paul Felder at UFC 191. In his two fights prior to that, Pearson lost a unanimous decision to Evan Dunham and knocked out Sam Stout.

Meanwhile, Trinaldo (18-4) has pieced together one of the most sneakily impressive runs at lightweight over the last year-plus. Since September 2014, Trinaldo has gone 4-0, most recently knocking out The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia winner Chad Laprise in Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 74. With a win over Pearson, Trinaldo will run his streak to five straight, a string of success that will likely force UFC brass to give him top-15 consideration in the division.