Tyson Pedro returned to the UFC in April following a three-year injury-enforced absence. Photo / Getty Images
Tyson Pedro returned to the UFC in April following a three-year injury-enforced absence. Photo / Getty Images
Tyson Pedro is embracing his role as a student.
The Australian mixed martial artist's career has been unique. His star rose rapidly in 2016 as he strung together three impressive wins on the regional circuit. Just over a month after the last of those three, he was making his debutin the UFC - the world's biggest MMA promotion – at just 25 years old with a 4-0 record.
He made the most of his shot, putting together back-to-back stoppage wins over Khalil Rountree Jr and Paul Craig and soon found himself ranked in the top 15 of the light heavyweight division.
However, an injury suffered in a 2018 loss to Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua became a major setback in his career. Due to multiple surgeries, it would be three years before he got back inside the UFC octagon, but he made a big statement when he did with a first-round knockout against Ike Villanueva.
For that bout, Pedro had done some work alongside the head coach of Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, Eugene Bareman. The partnership worked wonders and for his bout this weekend against Harry Hunsucker at UFC 278 in Utah, Pedro carried out his full camp at the Auckland gym and will have Bareman in his corner again on fight night.
It has been a refreshing change for Pedro, who admits while he has no issues with the hard, physically demanding workouts, building upon his skillset has been a different story.
"When you're listening to Eugene and embarrassing yourself because he tells you to do something and you're nowhere near it, it makes me feel like I'm way back at the start again. I'm enjoying that," Pedro said.
"They've made me feel like an amateur again with some of the kickboxing. There's a reason why they're the best at what they're doing, and I've been enjoying just being a student again.
"My game has gotten better, and being the first camp, I can't imagine what's going to show up after a few camps here."
Pedro also confirmed he and his family were planning to make the move to New Zealand permanently so he could continue working on his craft at City Kickboxing while out of camp as well.
"I've spoken with the wife and that's definitely the plan, but obviously there's a bit of stuff to do with family back in Australia," he said. "It's not as easy as just moving over here – especially seeing these Auckland prices of housing. It's not much different to Sydney; I don't know what's gone on here. And petrol? My first time filling up petrol here, I was a bit iffy on that."
Having lost years of his career, Pedro was looking to make up for that time by staying active. After getting back into his work in April, this weekend's bout against Hunsucker is the latest step on that journey.
Hunsucker has had a rough welcome to the UFC since signing in early 2021 as a short notice replacement against Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa, losing the bout via first-round TKO. He then met Kiwi heavyweight Justin Tafa late in 2021, and was again beaten in the first round.
Harry Hunsucker was beaten by Kiwi heavyweight Justin Tafa in his most recent UFC appearance. Photo / Getty Images
Hunsucker will now be making the drop down in weight class to take on Pedro, his third-straight fighter from the Oceania region and of Samoan heritage.
As for his approach to the bout, Pedro said he wanted to keep things simple once the cage door closed.
"I wanted to get straight back in there. It's been a rough camp this one, but I want to just get in there, get the job done, then hopefully get another quick turnaround again. I'm ready to get another one in before the end of the year if all goes well."
