Thomas Petersen got back in the win column on Saturday, earning a majority decision over Guilherme Pat at UFC Fight Night 272.
The heavyweight clash closed out the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, where Petersen improved his professional record to 11-4 in MMA and 3-3 in the UFC. Pat, who entered the bout undefeated, now sits at 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the UFC.
Petersen’s victory came in his first outing since a knockout loss in Brazil to Vitor Petrino in October, a setback he described in stark terms. “I lost my last fight in the worst way possible and I woke up in an ambulance in motherf*cking Brazil, a million miles away from my wife,” Petersen said. “When that kind of sh*t happens to you in this sport, you don't want to do it again.”
“But this is what I love to do, and I was willing to put it on the line and it worked out for me,” he added. “I still belong here, is what that win brought me,” Petersen said. “… This fight was if I belong here or not. That's how I felt. I showed I still belong here, and I just want to keep going.”
The 31-year-old former LFA heavyweight champion, who works as a mechanic servicing concrete mix trucks in Minnesota, has alternated wins and losses during his UFC tenure, with this latest result marking another pivotal step in his run.
