Tyson Pedro is back in a big way.
The UFC light heavyweight had his first fight since 2018 on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 205 in Las Vegas. Pedro (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) put away Ike Villanueva in devastating fashion in the first round of their light heavyweight bout.
Pedro hampered Villanueva with several leg kicks that limited his mobility. With the final leg kick, Pedro dropped Villanueva to the canvas and then followed up with the fight-ending uppercut on a downed Villanueva who was leaning against the cage.
It was a long road back for Pedro after he underwent three knee surgeries that kept him out of action for more than three years.
“It’s surreal at the moment,” Pedro said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I just needed a second to take it all in. There’s a lot going on. I can’t even put it into words how hard it’s been, four long years. This is the proudest that I can say I am of myself in a long time.”
You can watch Pedro’s finish in the video below (via Twitter):
Tyson Pedro threw some HUGE shots 👊 #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/fbWPbiqxTf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2022
