After well over three years on the sidelines spent dealing with myriad injuries and obstacles, Pedro finally made his return to the Octagon in April, collecting a first-round stoppage win over Ike Villanueva. It was his first victory since he defeated Saparbeg Safarov at UFC 221 more than four years earlier, and was a clearly emotional moment for the Australian light heavyweight.
This weekend, Pedro looks to make it two straight when he takes on Harry Hunsucker, who is relocating to the 205-pound weight division after a pair of losses at heavyweight.
What makes Pedro someone to keep close tabs on heading into this weekend and beyond is that he’s still only 30 years old (he’ll be 31 on September 17) and he’s already got stoppage wins over Khalil Rountree Jr. and Paul Craig, while having shared the Octagon with Ilir Latifi, Ovince Saint Preux, and Shogun Rua, as well. That’s a wealth of experience and a couple wins that have aged fairly well to build upon now that he’s (knock on wood) healthy again and competing regularly.
UFC 278 FREE FIGHTS: Usman vs Masvidal 2 | Usman vs Edwards 1 | Costa vs Romero | Rockhold vs Weidman | Edwards vs Diaz | Usman vs Covington 2
Prior to his injury hiatus, Pedro profiled as a talented prospect who simply got dropped into the deep end of the talent pool a little too quickly a couple of different times, which tends to happen in the shallower weight classes from time-to-time. But those are good learning experiences and he’s undeniably continued to work and train and build and develop throughout his time away, and should now get the opportunity to build a little momentum, get a few fights under his belt before jumping back in against a ranked opponent.
We’ve seen Pedro’s brother-in-law Tai Tuivasa come along after him, start hot, stumble, and come back even stronger, and there is no reason the affable light heavyweight can’t do the same going forward.
