Tyson Pedro is about to challenge a breakout Chinese fighter who, apart from being on an undefeated tear of nine fights undefeated, or winning them all within the first round, also knocked his last opponent unconscious.
And for several minutes, too.
But as for Pedro’s biggest concern?
“Ah, my brewery will open during fight camp,” laughs the UFC light heavyweight. “And then same month, I’m also heading to Las Vegas …”
Watch Live UFC with ESPN on Kayo. Full Fight Night Events, PPV Prelims, Ultimate Fighter Series & More. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Brutal knee bar capped by killer KO | 00:56
To train?
“No,” he continues, “that’s for a beer launch too”.
Only seven months on from securing the greatest injury comeback in UFC history, 31-year-old Pedro has now been confirmed by UFC officials as the latest fighter onto Australia’s blockbuster UFC 284 card on February 12– joining Alexander Volkanovski and Rob Whittaker.
Set for Perth, Pedro will face debuting Chinese striker Zhang Mingyang – who won his way into the UFC with an unforgettable ‘Road to the Octagon’ win earlier this year.
Riding a nine fight win streak, Mingyang scored a huge first-round upset win over George Tokkos, dropping the Englishman with a big right hand before following up with five more blows on the ground.
While the highlight reel KO, which left Tokkos unconscious for a prolonged period, has been replayed many times over, Pedro concedes he is yet to see it.
But worry?
“I don’t care if the guy stabbed his last opponent,” he told Fox Sports Australia.
“I will watch footage of him shortly.
“But not too much. I find if I watch too much tape of my opponents, I start to over analyse them. So I leave that sort of stuff to my team.”
Instead, Pedro will mix a fight camp at his new training venue, Auckland’s famed City Kickboxing gym, with his other latest venture – the ongoing rise and rise of Drink West beer.
Partnered with heavyweight Tai Tuivasa and Penrith premiership hero Nathan Cleary, the beer now available in 291 locations will also officially open its western Sydney brewery in December.
Full fight highlights: Paul beats Silva! | 04:20
Elsewhere, Pedro and Tuivasa are also scheduled to be in Las Vegas just before Christmas for the last big show of the year, UFC 282.
“With Drink West now a partner of the UFC, we agreed to do a promotion around that event,” Pedro explained of a card that arrives only a week after Tuivasa’s next fight.
“Two winners will fly out for the fights, have dinner with us, get the VIP treatment, it will all be really cool.
“I’ll just have to let Tai do all the drinking.
“Then from there we fly home to open the brewery.
“I’ll then head back to Auckland and train at CKB through December. So Christmas isn’t going to be a big thing for me this year.”
Back in April, Pedro returned to the Octagon for the first time in almost three years – officially the longest layoff from injury in UFC history.
The Sydneysider has since won two straight as part of his emphatic comeback story, and will be looking to make it three when he joins a bumper summer card Down Under.
