After more than three years on the sidelines spent dealing with a myriad of injuries and obstacles, Pedro finally made his return to the Octagon in April, picking up a first-round stoppage victory over Ike Villanueva. It was his first win since defeating Saparbeg Safarov at UFC 221 over four years earlier, and it was a clearly emotional moment for the Australian light heavyweight.
This weekend, Pedro is looking to make it two in a row when he takes on Harry Hunsucker, who is moving to the 205-pound heavyweight division after a pair of heavyweight losses.
What makes Pedro someone to watch closely this weekend and beyond is that he’s still only 30 (he’ll be 31 on September 17) and has already won stops over Khalil Rountree Jr. and Paul Craig, while also having shared the Octagon with Ilir Latifi, Ovince Saint Preux and Shogun Rua. It’s a wealth of experience and some victories that have aged quite well to build on now that he’s (knock on wood) healthy again and competing regularly.
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Prior to his injury break, Pedro presented himself as a talented prospect who simply found himself a little too quickly in the talent pool on several occasions, which tends to happen from time to time in the weight classes. less deep. But these are good learning experiences and he has undeniably continued to work, train, build and develop throughout his absence, and should now have the opportunity to gain some momentum, to get a few fights under his belt before coming back against a ranked opponent. .
We’ve seen Pedro’s brother-in-law Tai Tuivasa follow him, start hot, stumble and come back even stronger, and there’s no reason the affable light heavyweight can’t do the same at the future.
Amir Albazi
