UFC 209 results: Tyson Pedro wins battle of unbeatens over Paul Craig

The featured Fight Pass bout between Tyson Pedro and Paul Craig on Satuday featured not just a battle of unbeatens, but a duo who had collectively never gone past the second round in 14 pro fights.

After UFC 209, one fighter’s streak remained. The Australian Pedro showed solid striking in finishing Craig at 4:10 of the opening round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, improving to 6-0 with a TKO win in a battle of notable light heavyweight prospects.

Scotland’s Craig (9-1), who came into the bout with eight submissions in his nine previous fights, seemed overly committed to his grappling game, which left him wide open to Craig’s striking.

A series of knees in the clinch softened Craig up and led to a straight right hand which dropped him. Pedro let Craig back up, then finished the job, ultimately polishing him off with ground-and-pound elbows.

Craig has never gone beyond a round in his young career, with two KOs and four submissions.

“I threw a straight right way too late, but it eventually came and I made it work,” Pedro said. “We’ve been practicing but usually it’s me on the bottom, I like it better up on top.”