Tag: Tyson Pedro

2024 MMA retirement tracker: A list of those who hung up the gloves

The MMA world already has said goodbye to a number of retiring fighters in 2024, with more surely to come for the rest of the year.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.

2024 has already seen a number of notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

UFC’s Tyson Pedro retires to put more focus on family. And about those expenses …

After 11 fights in the UFC, Australia’s Tyson Pedro hung up his gloves after a loss in the UFC Fight Night 238 co-main event.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] got his request out of the way early after UFC Fight Night 238.

“All right. Let’s do it. I’d appreciate (you) not trying to make me cry. That’d be nice,” Pedro said when he got to the podium Saturday after the co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Pedro (10-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Vitor Petrino (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), and afterward said he made the decision to hang up his gloves in order to focus more on his family.

But getting through talking about his choice to walk away without shedding a few tears might have been about as hard as anything he ever had to do in the cage.

The 32-year-old Australian made a big splash when he came to the UFC in late 2016. He submitted Khalil Rountree in his promotional debut for a $50,000 bonus in front of his home fans in Melbourne. His next time out, he knocked out Paul Craig.

And while he hit a skid after that with three losses in four fights, he seemed to have rebounded after that and had won three of four before Saturday’s loss to Petrino.

“You put in all the costs, put on the cost to my family, I probably just can’t do it anymore,” Pedro told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the loss. “With the deductions and the loss of the fight tonight, I’m probably going to have to rob someone in the car park. So if anyone’s got any money on them – who’s got the most on them?”

He was joking, of course. But Pedro said it comes down to more than just financial considerations.

In particular, going to New Zealand for his training camps means time away from his wife and daughter.

“It’s been on my mind a little bit lately,” he said. “Mainly, (I’ve) just been away from my daughter. I’ve been away probably 12 months in the last two and a half years from my wife and baby. That’s obviously my choice going over to New Zealand (to train). I know that’s where I’m going to be the best mixed martial artist.

“… It’s more a family thing, definitely. I’ve got a change of dreams, so if I’m going to do that, I might as well spend it with my daughter. Who knows – you might see me on the Australian circuit, but that’s it for me for MMA.”

Pedro learned after his own announcement that Jamie Pickett, who lost to Eryk Anders a couple hours before Pedro’s fight, also said he’s calling it quits to focus on his family.

“I try not to complain about it too much. I get to do what I love,” Pedro said. “There’s people out there that are sacrificing this much doing a sh*t job, so I’m thankful for the opportunities that I’ve got. I got to live my dream, fight in front of the biggest crowds, fight for the biggest (MMA) company in the world, so it’s all positives for me. But I want to look back, and (I’d rather be) spending that time with my daughter … ooh, that one almost got me (crying). It’s close. It’s close. It’s shining up here.”

Pedro said it’s possible he could come back – which seems to happen more with MMA retirements than it doesn’t. But more than likely, his MMA journey is over.

“Never say never, but I can’t see it in the foreseeable future,” he said.

But when asked if his family might eventually think he’s home too much and request he return to fighting, Pedro couldn’t rule it out: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s probably the highest chance out of all of it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

UFC Fight Night 238 post-event facts: Umar Nurmagomedov on the rise in bantamweight books

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 238, which saw Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Muhammad Mokaev and Umar Nurmagomedov make noise.

The UFC opened its March schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 238, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event saw [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) overcome a slow start to batter [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a referee TKO stoppage after the end of the fourth round, putting him back on the winning track.

For more on the numbers behind the card, which featured six finishes in 11 fights – and a couple of them unique – check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 238.

UFC Fight Night 238 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $24 million

UFC Fight Night 238 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 238 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $133,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 238 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 238 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bekzat Almakhan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Vinicius Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Aiemann Zahabi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Christian Leroy Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Claudio Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]A.J. Cunningham[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2381 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,362,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,069,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

UFC Fight Night 238 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 238 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 238 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 238 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

Tyson Pedro’s take on career growing pains: ‘I’m like fine wine – I’m getting better with age’

Tyson Pedro has had a taste of that highly touted prospect life. Now he wants to show Vitor Petrino there can be a downside to it.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] has had a little taste of that highly touted prospect life. Now he wants to show Vitor Petrino there can be a downside to it.

That downside for Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) came in 2017 when he was 5-0 with five first-round finishes on his resume, including stoppages in his first two UFC fights against Khalil Rountree and Paul Craig – no small potatoes to be certain.

But Ilir Latifi took a decision from him for his first loss, and it was the start of a 1-3 slump that ultimately helped usher him into more than three years on the sidelines. These days, though, he’s reversed that with a 3-1 run – and the first-round finishes are back.

But Petrino (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) comes in with a fresh set of challenges for Pedro, namely that the Brazilian is unbeaten – just like Pedro was at one point.

“I’m just getting there (in my career),” Pedro said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) in Las Vegas, where he fights Petrino on Saturday. “I feel good where I’m at right now, so I’m just going with it. I’m like fine wine, man: I’m getting better with age.

“Bring it. That’s it. Let’s go. I was a hype train once. It just takes a better fighter to beat him, so I’m ready to take that zero.”

Petrino is a 3-1 betting favorite in the fight. He came to the UFC a year ago next week after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. He has but two decisions on his resume, and the rest are finishes.

Check out Pedro’s full media day interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 29-Feb. 4)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 29-Feb. 4.

Tyson Pedro made ‘The Pleasure Man’ pay for wife comments before UFC 293

There was confusion as to whose wife “The Pleasure Man” was talking about, but either way Tyson Pedro made him pay at UFC 293.

SYDNEY – It’s a bit unclear whose wife was the target of a crass joke by “The Pleasure Man” at the UFC 293 pre-fight news conference, but [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] was happy to make him pay for his words regardless.

After Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) bludgeoned [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with a first-round knockout combination, he explained how the fight on Saturday’s main card at Qudos Bank Arena was perhaps a bit more personal than usual.

Three days prior at the official UFC 293 pre-fight news conference, MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn asked Turkalj the origin of his unusual nickname, to which “The Pleasure Man” responded, “The best way to find out is to ask Tyson Pedro after a fight or you ask your wife.”

While it’s unclear exactly whose wife was the butt of a rude joke, Pedro perceived it as a personal insult and took it out on Turkalj.

“Well then I made that up in my head and he paid for it,” Pedro said to reporters including Bohn. “… We’re on the same page. I thought he mentioned my wife and I said ‘F*ck you, you dog. I’m going to hurt you.’ That’s why I was angry the ref pulled me off earlier than I would’ve wanted because I wanted to hurt him a bit more. I don’t know. Maybe he just made a mistake and was talking about your wife. But for the last two days, all I’ve been thinking about is hurting him for talking about my wife. So I feel bad for him if he was talking about your wife.”

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Words aside, Pedro achieved his ultimate goal of getting back in the win column. He’s now won three of his most recent four outings. Proud of his performance, Pedro admitted he was surprised Turkalj was done so quickly.

“I finished him off real quick, quicker than I expected,” Pedro said. “He didn’t last as long as I expected. … The ref pulled me off quicker than I thought ‘The Pleasure Man’ would. I’ve been thinking about him all night and went in deep for this one. He just rubbed me the wrong way, you know? Left a bad taste in my mouth.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

UFC 293 post-event facts: Sean Strickland starts a new era at 185 pounds

The best facts to come out of UFC 293, which saw Sean Strickland force a changing of the guard with his title win over Israel Adesanya.

The UFC’s return to Sydney after nearly six years produced one of the most shocking main event results of the year as the middleweight title changed hands at Qudos Bank Arena.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) closed out UFC 293 with a massive unanimous decision upset of [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) to take the belt and force a reset at the top of the middleweight rankings.

For more on the numbers from the title bout, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 293.

* * * *

UFC 293 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland gets $32,000 for title win

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

SYDNEY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 293 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Australia. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 293 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chepe Mariscal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blood Diamond[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,944,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,533,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.