This is the UFC 221 live blog for Tyson Pedro vs. Saparbek Safarov, a light heavyweight bout at Saturday night’s UFC event at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia.
Pedro has won six of his seven pro bouts by knockout or submission, and he looks to rebound from his first loss when he fights Safarov, another competitor whose victories have all come inside the distance, on the main card.
Check out the UFC 221 live blog below.
Round 1: Pedro probing with the jab early. He lands a solid leg kick, but Safarov immediately gets a takedown off of it. They end up pressed against the cage and Pedro uses it to stand up. Back to center. Safarov catches another kick, takedown is defended by Pedro this time. Lunging left by Safarov misses. Pedro scoring with short lead leg kicks. Right hand lands for Pedro, then another. He fires back with a flurry that mostly misses, but gets Pedro to back off. Pedro with another good right hand He misses on a lunging punch and eats an uppercut for his troubles. Right hand again and Safarov looks hurt for a moment, but he recovers. Knee to the body by Safarov, he tries to follow up and ducks into a knee to the face by Pedro. Safarov attempts a single leg, he gets Pedro up and brings him down. Right hands from Safarov as Pedro rises. Pedro uses a kimura to create a scramble situation, he ends up on top and then finishes with a kimura. Safarov taps.
Official result: Tyson Pedro def. Saparbek Safarov via submission (kimura) at 3:54 of Round 1