Tyson Pedro Tattoos: Meaning Behind UFC Light Heavyweight’s Inks

UFC light-heavyweight star Tyson Pedro is returning this weekend at UFC Fight Night 238. He will be taking on the highly-touted Vitor Petrino in the co-main event of the evening. Despite Petrino being an undefeated prospect, Pedro has been one of the most dynamic fighters in the division and poses a significant challenge to the Brazilian’s undefeated streak. He has a record of  10-4 with all 10 of his wins ending in the first round. Other than his incredible knockout prowess, one thing that lets Pedro stand out from the rest is his looks.

Pedro has a wide variety of ink all across his body. From tribal tattoos to portraits inspired by the land of the rising sun, his choices of ink are without a doubt unique to his personality. What most people would assume to be just works of art, he claims that all ink on his body has meanings.

The significance of Tyson Pedro’s tattoos

Tyson Pedro is of Samoan descent, which is why we can see a lot of tattoos covering the UFC fighter’s body, giving homage to the fighter’s culture and heritage. Pedro claims to have gotten many of his tattoos along with his father, with whom he shared a very close bond.

The reason for him getting the Samoan tattoo was that he wanted to go back to his Samoan roots, which he states to have lost due to facing discrimination after migrating to Australia when he was younger. He also sports a sleeve tattoo, or ‘Tatau’ as they call it in his native tongue. which he got done when he was 18. On his leg, there is the pe’a.

Pedro also has the names of his family tattooed all across his body as a tribute to his love for them. His first tattoo was a tribute to his dad which reads “o lo’u toa tama” which is a Samoan transcript that stands for “my father is a warrior”. This was his first one and he had it done when he was just 16 years old. He has three portraits of his cousin who he was very close to. Pedro’s cousin passed away while he was serving the armed forces in Afghanistan in 2010.

Pedro also has tattoos of a Samurai and a demon on his back, which he claims to show the two sides that people have in them. The 32-year-old revealed that the demon was an 11-hour effort, but claimed that the demon tattoo hurt more than the samurai, symbolically showing that being a good person is harder than being a bad person. Another thing that helps Pedro stand out apart from his tattoos and fights is how similar his name is to a boxing legend.

Also Read: “He Had the Same Scar”- Tyson Pedro’s Father Recalls the Moment When He Named His Son After His Idol Mike Tyson

John Pedro explains the reason for naming his son after boxing legend

Tyson Pedro’s father, John Pedro, was a big Mike Tyson fan, and a pioneer of Australian MMA. Given his involvement with combat sports, it wasn’t surprising to see that Pedro Sr. named his son after Mike Tyson after noticing a scar on his head.

During a UFC Connected episode, he said, “He came out; he had the same scar on his head there Mike Tyson had. I was already a massive fan of Mike Tyson and when I looked at him and he came out with a frown, and he had his hands like that. I went Tyson.”

What do you make of these interesting little facts about Pedro and his tattoos? Do you think that Mike Tyson’s namesake has what it takes to take away the undefeated record of the Brazilian prospect, Vitor Petrino? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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