Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC).

Background

Pedro is an Australian of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

heritage. He is the son of John Pedro, who owned

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

in Australia and was one of exponent MMA and fighters fought in the first cage fight in Australia. With seven black belts of different combat sport style, Pedro was introduced to Japanese jiu-jitsu at the age of 4. From jujutsu, he progressed to

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

before eventually fighting

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

Mixed martial arts career

After winning over

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

Steven Warby at Australian Fighting Championship 17 via rear-naked choke, Pedro called UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

and personally asked him to fight at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, should any fighters pull out from the event. He was added to the card after

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...

withdrew from the event due to a sprained

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pedro made his promotional debut against

Khalil Rountree Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. ...

on November 15, 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson. He won the fight via submission in round 1, for which he was awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Pedro faced

Paul Craig Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

on March 4, 2017, at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event wa ...

. He won the fight via first round TKO. Pedro fought

Ilir Latifi Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in Sha ...

on September 9, 2017, at

UFC 215 ''UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background The promotion was initially planning a PPV event ...

. Latifi won the fight via unanimous decision, handing Pedro his first professional loss. Pedro faced

Saparbek Safarov Saparbek Dibirovich Safarov (russian: Сапарбек Сафаров; born 14 October 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who competes in the light heavyweight division. He competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial art ...

on February 11, 2018, at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events ...

. He won the fight via submission due to a kimura in the first round. Pedro faced

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

on June 23, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. On August 10, 2018, it was revealed that Pedro had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC. Pedro faced

Maurício Rua Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former ...

on December 2, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 142 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 142'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on 2 December 2018 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Sou ...

. Rua defeated Pedro via technical knockout in round three, finishing Pedro after he suffered a leg injury and was unable to defend himself. Pedro was sidelined for all of 2019 as he recovered from knee reconstruction surgery. Pedro was scheduled to face

Vinicius Moreira Vinicius Moreira Castro (born February 28, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background In ...

on February 23, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker. However, Pedro pulled out of the fight in early January citing an undisclosed injury. After a three year absence from fighting, Pedro returned to face

Ike Villanueva Isaac "Ike" James Villanueva (born April 4, 1984), is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Starting his career in 2008, Vi ...

on April 23, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 205 ''UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 205'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 63'' or ''UFC Vegas 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 23, 2022, at the UF ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Pedro faced Harry Hunsucker on August 20, 2022 at

UFC 278 ''UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. He won the fight after stopping Hunsucker with a front kick to the body and ground and pound. Pedro was scheduled to face Zhang Mingyang on February 12, 2023 at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

. However, Mingyang withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by

Modestas Bukauskas Modestas Bukauskas (born 10 February 1994) is a Lithuanian and British mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former two-time Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Cham ...

Personal life

Pedro is married and his father, John Pedro, is famous for bringing

to Australia. Pedro's brother-in-law is UFC heavyweight fighter

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC heavyweight ...

. Pedro is a fan of the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

, a professional

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team in Australia. As of December 2017, Pedro hosted "The Halfcast Podcast" with Tai Tuivasa as co-host. He is named after former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Harry Hunsucker , TKO (body kick and punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 ,

, KO (leg kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Submission (straight armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (kimura) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:54 ,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

, TKO (elbows) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Khalil Rountree Jr. Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rountree was born in ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Stephen Warby , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Australian FC 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:05 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Don Endermann , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Australian FC 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Michael Fitzgerald , Submission (guillotine choke) , Urban Fight Night 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Charlie Ngaheu , KO (punch) , Eternal MMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 ,

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Australia , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedro, Tyson 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Australian male mixed martial artists Australian people of Italian descent Australian people of Spanish descent Samoan male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Samoan practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian jujutsuka Samoan jujutsuka Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters