‘There’s been some dark moments’ – Tyson Pedro opens up on training with Israel Adesanya

Tyson Pedro is ready to go to another level after spending more than two months training alongside UFC superstar, Israel Adesanya.

In the trenches: Tyson Pedro (L) and Israel Adesanya (R) training at City Kickboxing in Auckland. Picture: Phil Walter/Zuffa LLC

For the past nine weeks, Tyson Pedro has been carefully studying every move Israel Adesanya makes.

From the moment he walks into the City Kickboxing gym in Auckland as they both prepare for their UFC 293 fights in Sydney next weekend, to when the middleweight champion sweeps the mats after training, Pedro watches and learns.

“Selfishly, I’ve gotten a lot out of just watching everything he does,” Pedro tells this masthead. “I like to think I’ve pushed him in this fight camp too, because we’ve gone back and forth in a lot of situations, just grinding it out.

“There’s been a few times where he’s said something to me and it’s something that’ll stick with me for life.

“We’ve got a really close bond now. After my last fight, I came back to help him prepare for his camp instead of going back home with family, and I think he appreciated that.”

Adesanya and Pedro deep in preparation. Picture: Phil Walter/Zuffa LLC)

Born and raised in Western Sydney, light-heavyweight fighter Pedro has made Auckland a second home as he prepares for his 10th fight in the UFC.

“We’re good teammates now, he’s there for me and I’m there for him,” Pedro says of Adesanya. “It’s the same with everyone there too now, they’ve made me feel really welcome.

“Especially when you’re in the trenches, when you’re all in dark places, just knowing you’ve got that bond, it really helps.”

When Pedro mentions the trenches, he’s talking about five sessions a day, early starts, late finishes and two months spent away from home.

“There’s been some dark moments, and sometimes you just look at yourself in the mirror and wonder what you’re doing,” he says. “You’re just standing there giving yourself a pep-talk, a little pump up.

“It’s like when you’re on a bender, someone always needs a shoulder to lean on every once in a while.”

There have been plenty of those moments for Pedro since his loss at UFC 284 in Perth in February.

A big favourite going in, he fell sick during fight week and copped a torrent of hateful abuse on social media after losing a decision.

Most of the negativity stemmed from hopeless gamblers who’d lost money betting on him, and it left the 31-year-old father of one pretty jaded.

Pedro lands one on Modestas Bukauskas at UFC 294. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“Even though I had gastro, I just thought, ‘f**k it, I’m still going out to fight for the people – I didn’t want to pull out,” he says. “Then they turn around and do that, and it’s like, ‘What am I doing this for?’

“I’d never really received hate online before, so it was definitely a shock to the system. I was going to get t-shirts made up saying, ‘F**k your multi’.

“I had a bit of a re-evaluation, but I’m better for it, as always. It was probably the best post-fight ritual I’ve ever gone through. I grew so much as a fighter and as a person.”

Pedro used all those comments as motivation as he began preparing for his comeback fight against dangerous all-rounder Anton Turkalj next weekend.

“I screenshotted all the negative comments and it was the hardest I’ve ever trained – I had a chip on my shoulder,” he says. “There’s a reason we’re on the main card, they think it’s going to be a bit of scrap, so I want to do something special.

“He’s an all-rounder, a good striker, but I’m going shock and awe with this one. I really want to put on a show.”

Originally published as ‘There’s been some dark moments’ – Tyson Pedro opens up on training with Israel Adesanya