Y
ou’re from a fighting
family and started
training with your
dad, John Pedro — in what
disciplines did he train you,
from what age?
We started with basic
stretching and movements
around the age of three or
four. I started in Zen Bu Kan
Kempo karate and Bunbu-ichi
Nihon jujitsu under my father.
We actually read a lot of Blitz
magazine back in the day!
How old were you when
you decided to seriously begin
working towards a fight career?
I have always played some
type of sport, though I always
turned back to martial arts or
combat sports. Around the ageof 16, I told my dad I wanted to
do it as a career, which is when
I started amateur boxing.
Your dad fought in the
early days of MMA and owns
KOTC Australia. So, would you
count yourself as one of the
‘pure MMA’ generation, who
grew up training in a mixed
system purely for the purpose
of MMA, or have you had some
‘traditional’ training experiences
as well?
I would say I’m pretty close
to a pure MMA generation,
though we still had a lot
of traditional ties...the only
reason I couldn’t say for sure
is because if I was training my
child purely for MMA, it would
be different to how I grew up.Where did you do your most
recent training camp prior to
UFC 209, and what did you
focus on?
At JacksonWink Academy
in New Mexico [under famed
coaches Greg Jackson and Mike
Winkeljohn]. We worked on
tightening up mistakes that I’m
still making. Most mixed martial
artists today are very similar,
I believe; there is an overall
knowledge of fighting. I think
it comes down to the small
details and that’s what I try to
fix or get better at every day.
Do you think it’s necessary
to go beyond Australia to get
the coaching and elite training
partners you need to compete at
UFC level?Not at all, Australia is climbing
the ranks in MMA. I find the
coaches at JacksonWink suit
me and I them, but it is also a
massive factor that everything
is in the one place where
my only focus is training.
What does your usual weekly
training routine entail, and how
does that ramp up for a pre-
fight camp?
I train every day, fight camp
or not. Most days are weights/
strength of a morning and
fighting/skill-acquisition of a
night, whether it be BJJ [and/
or] MMA. Some days may just
be a yoga session or swimming.
Fight camp is very similar,
though the intensity is a lot
higher and I don’t lift weightsSydney fighter Tyson Pedro was one of the first generation of combat athletes to be born
into MMA. As the son of King of the Cage Australia’s promoter, he’s had a lifetime of lessons
and at 25 they’re already paying off: Pedro finished both of his two fights in the UFC’s light-
heavyweight division in the first round, taking his overall record to 6–0.
INTERVIEW BY BEN STONE | IMAGES BY JEFF BOTTARI, GETTY IMAGESChasing Octagon Dreams
FIGHT LIFEPedro chokes Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight
Night Melbourne in November 201682 ƫđƫ333ċ (%06) #ċ*!0 | (^) FULL CONTACT