The UFC 293 main card started off with a bang. Light heavyweight contenders Anton Turkalj and hometown fighter and Israel Adesanya‘s teammate Tyson Pedro did the honors. The fight did not go the distance as Pedro scored a knockout victory in the very first round of the fight. Moreover, many UFC fighters and fans lauded the finish.
Before the fight in Sydney, Anton Turkalj claimed he had no pressure despite having lost three fights in a row. Instead, he stated that all the pressure was on Tyson Pedro to win in front of his home crowd. Pressure or no pressure, the Sydney native did not fail to impress the Australian fans.
A win for the Australian fighter
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Pedro, a former rugby player and son of one of the pioneers of Australian MMA, John Pedro, came into the fight determined to secure a win after losing his last fight. As the fight went on, Turkalj took the fight to the hometown fighter with kicks. It seemingly had Pedro on the back foot.
Incredible finish, even better celebration 👏@Tyson_Pedro_ came out SWINGING in round one to get the KO! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/7pYflb09b2
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2023
However, a right hook immediately rattled the Swedish fighter. The momentum started to shift on Pedro’s side as the Australian fighter continued to push for the finish. He finally managed to knock ‘The Pleasure Man’ out after another couple of right-handed strikes. Furthermore, he even sealed it off with a ‘samurai’ celebration. Being a member of City Kickboxing affords certain advantages. It appears that Pedro may have drawn inspiration from Israel Adesanya’s methods of commemorating victories. Let’s see what the fans had to say.
UFC pros and fans praise Tyson Pedro for his amazing knockout finish
Many fighters sent their praises to Pedro after knocking ‘The Pleasure Man’ out. This even included the former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
What a finish #tysonpedro #ufc293
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) September 10, 2023
Furthermore, Movsar Evloev also praised the Sydney native for the knockout victory.
Pedro with a knockout victory! What a performance! 👏 #ufc293
— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) September 10, 2023
On the other hand, in addition to being impressed with Tyson Pedro’s knockout win, the fans also took jibes at Anton Turkalj. They stated that the Swedish fighter was out of his element.
Brilliant shot Turkalj looked completely out of his depth
— Sin (@SinsMMA) September 10, 2023
A couple of fans even took a liking to the celebration at the end.
THAT CELEBRATION WAS LEGENDARY
— Fuck (@cumoverdreya) September 10, 2023
Insane celebration with a samurai tat on the back too🔥
— The Carter Ogunsola (@CarterOgunsola) September 10, 2023
Moreover, some fans even took a jibe at Turkalj’s nickname.
That KO was pleasuring to see 👊🏼
— Zoheb MMA (@ZohebMMA) September 10, 2023
The fans also claimed that ‘The Pleasure Man’ had no chance against Pedro.
Guy had no chance
— SleepyGang.eth (@sleepygang_eth) September 10, 2023
One fan said:
The pleasure was all Tyson's! 😜
— ₵𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓 ₵𝖍𝖆𝖓 (@CollinChan) September 10, 2023
Deserved it after the talking this week
— Sean Sublette (@Subby_Sean) September 10, 2023
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Moreover, most fans believe Turkalj deserved that knockout blow after talking too much in the pre-fight events.
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It remains to be seen what decision the UFC will take after Anton Turkalj suffered his third consecutive loss. On the other hand, it must have been a relief for Tyson Pedro after getting back to his winning ways. We will have to wait and see what’s next for him after earning a tremendous win in Sydney.
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