Salt Lake City, UT – UFC light heavyweight Tyson Pedro came into UFC 278 having been away from home for over 6 months, and made it all pay off with a TKO finish of Harry Hunsucker on Saturday night.
Pedro (9-3) walked into the media room and said as he sat down,”Just so you guys know I might be getting a phone call from my daughter while we’re here so if you don’t mind I might take a couple seconds.”
Minutes later the call came through.
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Then back to business.
Coming into the fight Pedro repeatedly said that Hunsucker is a “Kill or be killed” type of fighter and that he expected an action packed bout in Utah. Pedro did notice that Hunsucker had a sort of nervous energy to him through fight week.
“I just pictured….man, you have no idea how many times we practiced that backwards jab. I’m not a psychologist but I saw him yesterday pacing back-and-forward in the weigh-ins. Media was pretty rough on him,” Pedro told Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight scrum.
“I said I hate him, but he’s a very good dude. I met him a couple times and he’s a very nice guy. This is a very ruthless sport.”
For Hunsucker the fight was his third consecutive loss via knockout or TKO. In the UFC a three-fight losing streak normally means a fighter is on their way out of the promotion or very close to it.
“Who knows he might get cut after this one. That’s why there was a lot of nervous energy. So I said if I get the bonus I’ll give him 10k,” Pedro said.
“100%”
Unfortunately for both men Pedro did not get a performance bonus at UFC 278 but the sentiment was there from the victor.
So what’s next for Pedro? After missing out on almost 4 years of his career and feeling like he needs to make up for lost time Pedro mentioned one name he’d like to face before their time in the sport is done.
“I’ve said it a couple times but I’d love to get that 4 years back from Shogun (Rua). I don’t know if that’s early next year or where yet. I definitely want to get one more in before the end of the year and Shogun’s been on my mind for quite a while,” Pedro said.
“So I wouldn’t mind getting that one back under my belt.”
Watch the rest of Tyson Pedro’s UFC 278 post-fight scrum above.
