Tyson Pedro Accepted His Fight Night 101 Bout Without Knowing His Opponent

Tyson Pedro spoke with MMAjunkie about his UFC debut against Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 101. You can read some excerpts from the interview below:

On his arrival in the UFC: “I knew that I was going to be here. It was just a matter of time. For me, I believe in myself. The timing was a bit different (because it was a short notice fight) and that was the only thing that threw me off, but I knew I wanted to be here. I’ve been doing this for 17 years now. I’m 25 and for all these people telling me, ‘You’re going to be in the UFC.’ Now I’m here and now I have to show them why they believed me, and that’s what I’m so excited about.”

On going in with nerves: “When you walk out that first time, you get the shakes and a bit of an adrenaline rush seeing the crowd and hearing them scream. I think experiencing that for the first time is going to make a big difference, especially since I’ve done it twice now (while cornering teammates). The third time, now it’s my turn and I’m going to enjoy it.”

On accepting a fight without knowing who he’d face: “I didn’t get told who my opponent was. I would have chopped my leg off to fight (Ronaldo) ‘Jacare’ Souza (at middleweight) if I needed to. It didn’t matter who it was. They could have offered the top guys, you can’t say no. When you dream of it your whole life, now to be here, you can’t say no.”

On his hope for the fight: “I want to finish him in the first round. I like finishes. I don’t like going longer, I don’t like decisions. I don’t like leaving in the hands of the judges, and I want to end it in the first round.”