Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian former professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the

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

(UFC).

Background

Pedro is an Australian of

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

n heritage. He played junior

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

for St Dominic's College as a teenager but gave the sport away to focus on martial arts. Pedro is the son of John Pedro, who owned

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

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 four. From jujutsu, he progressed to

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu before eventually fighting

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Mixed martial arts career

After winning over

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

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 is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, should any fighters pull out from the event. He was added to the card after Luke Rockhold 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 called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pedro made his promotional debut against Khalil Rountree 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 Lindsey Craig (born 27 November 1987) is a Scottish mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, Craig formerly competed for BAMMA, where h ...

on March 4, 2017, at UFC 209. He won the fight via first round TKO. Pedro fought Ilir Latifi 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 even ...

. Latifi won the fight via unanimous decision, handing Pedro his first professional loss. Pedro faced Saparbek Safarov 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, Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events across t ...

. He won the fight via submission due to a kimura in the first round. Pedro faced Ovince Saint Preux 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. He competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light H ...

on December 2, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 142. 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 (MMA), Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

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 on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Pedro faced Harry Hunsucker on August 20, 2022 at UFC 278 . 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. However, Mingyang withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Modestas Bukauskas. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Pedro faced Anton Turkalj on September 10, 2023, at UFC 293. He won the fight via first round knockout. Pedro faced Vitor Petrino on March 2, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 238. He lost the bout by unanimous decision and retired from MMA after the bout.

Boxing career

Pedro was scheduled to make his pro boxing debut against Kris Terzievski on June 12, 2024 in Moore Park, NSW, Australia. On May 8, 2024 it was announced that Pedro suffered an arm injury and the fight was cancelled.

Personal life

Pedro is married. His father, John Pedro, is famous for bringing

to Australia. Pedro's brother-in-law is UFC heavyweight fighter Tai Tuivasa. Pedro is a fan of the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

, a professional

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

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 between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

. Pedro is co-owner of Drink West Brewery with Tai Tuivasa and Nathan Cleary.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 , Vitor Petrino , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Anton Turkalj , KO (punches) , UFC 293 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:12 ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 , Modestas Bukauskas , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 284 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Harry Hunsucker , TKO (body kick and punches) , UFC 278 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Utah, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Ike Villanueva , KO (leg kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 ,

, 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 list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Ovince Saint Preux , Submission (straight armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Saparbek Safarov , Submission (kimura) ,

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

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Ilir Latifi , Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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

, TKO (elbows) , UFC 209 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Khalil Rountree Jr. , 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 ,

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

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedro, Tyson 1991 births Living people Martial artists from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Australian male mixed martial artists 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Australian sports podcasters Australian company founders Drink company founders People educated at St Dominic's College, Penrith 21st-century Australian sportsmen