UFC Auckland: Tyson Pedro out of bout against Vinicius Moreira due to injury

Tyson Pedro has been forced out of his schedule bout at UFC Auckland due to injury. Photo / Getty Images

Australian light heavyweight Tyson Pedro will have to wait a bit longer to make his long awaited return to the octagon after another injury setback.

The 28-year-old was expected to make his first appearance in the UFC in more than a year against Brazil's Vinicius Moreira on the Auckland card in February, but has announced that won't be the case.

"Just when you think everything is going to your plan something hits you upside the head with a different one," he said in a post on Instagram.

"Out of the fight in Feb, I'm gutted but thank you for all the messages. I'm not stressed as I know I'm coming back, I've never stopped before, so I'm not going to now. Every time I've messed up in life, been injured or blind sighted, something good came out from it, that I couldn't see at the time.

"So until then, it's all smiles and time to grind again. A massive positive was being able to connect and train with the boys down (at City Kickboxing) thanks for having my family come through and showing us love. I'm praying for good news from the surgeon and a quick turnaround."

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After starting his UFC career with three wins in four fights, Pedro was looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses against Moreira, who has a 9-4 professional record but is without a win in his three UFC bouts.

The UFC told the Herald they are looking to find another opponent for Moreira, but the search was ongoing and no confirmation of a replacement had been made yet.

Pedro suffered a knee injury in his third-round TKO loss to Maurício 'Shogun' Rua in December of 2018 which required surgery to repair, however he did not specify if was his knee that was troubling him this time.

In preparation for the bout against Moreira, Pedro had linked up with Auckland-based UFC powerhouse gym City Kickboxing to train alongside fellow UFC Auckland-bound fighters Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and Kai Kara-France.