Tyson Pedro had a less-than-stellar pre-fight experience ahead of UFC 284 this past weekend (Feb. 11, 2023).
The Australian Light Heavyweight hopeful didn’t enter his bout against Modestas Bukauskas at 100 percent and it cost him. Losing a unanimous decision, Pedro has since revealed that he had a fight with gastroenteritis (commonly known as the stomach flu) before entering the Octagon.
“First and foremost, I wanted to thank Modestas,” Pedro said on Instagram. “Game opponent, he took the fight on short notice, and came out on top. I’m not taking anything away from him and I think some people may have thought that’s what I was doing by saying I had health concerns, but that’s not the case at all. He came, he beat me, and that’s the fight game.
“The night before my fight, I contracted gastro,” he continued. “It was extreme diarrhea and vomiting for the whole night. When the UFC bus came, I was still on the toilet ground vomiting and if you want to confirm it, you can ask the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) guy who had to sit there watching me s—t nonstop while he was trying to take my piss test (laughs).”
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Pedro, who returned from a four-year layoff in 2022. Had overall circumstances been a bit different, Pedro likely would have pulled out of the fight. Instead, he added that he felt he owed the promotion for finding a late-notice opponent, as well as Bukauskas for stepping up, and the fans who paid for their tickets. Pedro’s daughter, of course, was someone he also didn’t want to let down.
Pedro was originally slated to face Zhang Mingyang until Zhang withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons.
For complete UFC 284: “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski” results and play-by-play, click HERE.