Tyson Pedro left his gloves in the octagon the last time he fought in the UFC back in 2024. Two years later, the Australian light heavyweight is now set for his PFL debut on Thursday against 2024 league tournament winner Dovlet Yagshimuradov in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Pedro made the decision to retire from the sport following a loss to Vitor Petrino, saying “I probably just can’t do it anymore” after looking at the finances of the sport. Not long after, Pedro announced he would make the transition
to boxing. Matches kept getting cancelled until he finally made it to the ring to beat Taimoor Khan in a 10-round title bout nearly a year later, eventually leaving that sport as well.
“There was always just dramas going on behind the scenes,” Pedro told MMA Fighting of his boxing experience. “There was a lot of trouble that sort of was out of my control. And I think getting back into promotion under these guys is been time that I wanted to do again. Lots of pull-outs—some of them were from my injuries, some of them were from other people—but it basically just showing that it wasn’t aligning.”
Pedro struggled to find the exact words to explain his decision behind returning to MMA, but thinks he still has enough “shelf life” in the sport, at 34 years of age, and PFL is where he would like to be until the end of his fighting career.
“It wasn’t taken lightly,” Pedro said about ending his MMA retirement. “I tried to go out on my own to go on a venture that I believed in with boxing and sometimes shit just doesn’t work out. That fell through and I was pretty much done with fighting, to be honest. Then my current management team came to me with the opportunity from PFL and it really just seemed to align with what I wanted to do in life and it gave me a new love for MMA. And I was able to go back and see the boys at CKB [City Kickboxing] and I really enjoyed my time back there. It brought back my love for MMA.”
Being away from his wife and daughter was a big factor in his decision to leave MMA in 2024. Back to action before his daughter turns 5 later this year, Pedro wants to be present and healthy for her for decades to come, and that means not competing in a cage for much longer.
“I made a promise to my daughter that I wouldn’t be an old man fighting and punching and I want to try and keep my brain,” Pedro said. “I’ve been getting punched in the head for close to 30 years, so I want to be an old father for my baby.”
There was no such thing as a slow build up for Pedro in the UFC. He joined the promotion as a 4-0 talent and beat Khalil Rountree Jr. and Paul Craig in his first four months in the company, and faced the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Ovince Saint Preux before he even had 10 bouts under his belt.
“Was there a better route that I could have taken? Yes, probably,” Pedro said, “But also it could have been life-changing if it went the other way. Maybe if I didn’t hurt my knee [and stayed out for nearly four years]. And also I made a lot of mistakes outside of the octagon in a lot of choices in life. Maybe I didn’t take it seriously or maybe I wasn’t as focused, but a lot has changed in my life since. I was a completely different person now than I was then. Unfortunately, I’m still the same risk taker [laughs]. If you put a challenge in front of me I’m going to take it. I believe in myself so much that it doesn’t matter who you put in front of me. That can also be to my detriment, but I’ll always go down fighting.”
That trend continues in PFL, where Pedro faces off with Yagshimuradov in his promotional debut. Yagshimuradov won seven fights in a row between 2022 and 2024 in Bellator and PFL, beating Impa Kasanganay, Rob Wilkinson, and Rafael Carvalho before losing a PFL title bout to Corey Anderson in his most recent appearance.
“I think it’s a testament to my whole fighting career,” Pedro said of debuting against Yagshimuradov. “My first fight in the UFC was against Khalil Rountree on four-weeks notice. I’ve never tried to take the easy route. I fought a top 10 opponent in boxing when I first joined boxing, in a 10-round title fight, so I’ve never taken the easy rout for anything. I enjoy fighting. If you throw the baddest guy in front of me I’m gonna fight him. Definitely could have been easier routes for this, but this also sets me up for positive. Like, high risk, high reward.”
The “high reward” could be a championship fight, Pedro said, since Anderson has yet to book a title defense since claiming the inaugural belt in October of 2025.
“I think it speaks for itself, man,” Pedro said. “There’s not many people in front of him. One thing that is definitely In my mind now is I wanna stay as active as possible over the next couple years, get in as many as I can. It’s the same as wherever I go. You want to fight for the number one spot. Also, one of the main reasons I signed with PFL, coming to the end of my career as well, is what PFL is doing for mixed martial arts all over the world. Having these regional circuits and being able to have our routes to get onto the global stage is something I find really important because when I was coming up in MMA, there was no clear pathway of how to get onto the international stage. I think PFL is going a smart route about doing that.”
Yagshimuradov has only been finished once in 18 fights over the past 10 years, a third-round TKO to Anderson in 2021, and Pedro thinks his style matches up nicely against a “slow burner” fighter like him.
“To be honest, it looks like we’re in similar spots in our careers,” Pedro said. “Maybe not fight wise, but in age wise and what this fight will mean. I think we’re in very similar places. It’s two old dogs having a crack and we’re just coming to put on the show. I think my fight style shows that I’m willing to finish it wherever it goes. I love finding out in the fight what’s happening.
“The reason why I love MMA so much, even the difference in boxing to MMA, is it’s the human chess. And having this ability to just go anywhere in the absolute chaos and still being calm in it is something that’s really beautiful about MMA. I’m not too worried where it goes. I’ve trained for all of it and that’s what I love about MMA. On the feet, on the ground, doesn’t matter.”
