Australian fighter Tyson Pedro has a theory why fans are sleeping on UFC 284 (Exclusive)

UFC light heavyweight fighter Tyson Pedro believes fans aren't excited about UFC 284's card because it features a majority of Australian fighters.

Amongst the Australian competitors on the card is Pedro himself. The 31-year-old was originally scheduled to face Zhang Mingyang. However, he withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Modestas Bukauskas.

Pedro returned to the octagon in April last year after a three-year injury lay-off. The Australian was forced to undergo knee reconstruction surgery and suffered multiple setbacks during his recovery, with some questioning whether or not he'd be able to compete again.

Thankfully, he has recovered, and Tyson Pedro has looked his best after winning both of his bouts in 2022 in the first round.

Whilst preparing for UFC 284 this weekend, Tyson Pedro sat down exclusively with Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw. During the interview, the 31-year-old was asked about the card and whether or not he thought fans were as excited about the PPV as they should be:

"I hope it's one of the best fights ever [Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev] and I'd love to be a part of that history. I think it's a bit of a sleeper card, like a lot of people aren't that excited about it because there are Aussie's on it. You know, usually these sleeper cards are the ones that come out with the bangers."

Check out the exclusive interview here [Comments from 8:00 mark]:

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Tyson Pedro on City Kickboxing's leaders

Despite still being relatively new to his MMA career, Tyson Pedro is often surrounded by greatness whilst he is training. The 31-year-old trains out of City Kickboxing (CKB) in Auckland, New Zealand, and works alongside award-winning coaches Eugene Bareman and Doug Viney.

CKB is notable for producing fighters such as Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski and will look to achieve a new level of success if 'The Great' can defeat Islam Makahachev at UFC 284.

During the same interview with Sportskeed MMA, Pedro was asked which fighters often act as the unofficial leaders of the gym. According to the Australian fighter, Dan Hooker is a vital member of the team:

"Dan The Hangman [Hooker], would probably be the captain. That's what we call him, the captain. It's for a reason, he's there every session, he's leading the weigh-ins. He would probably be one of the main-leaders, training-wise, for the MMA team."