Athletes
Joe Pyfer | Stepping Up To A Challenge
Middleweight Looks To Defeat His Biggest Test To Date When He Faces Kelvin Gastelum In Mexico City
It’s been over a year since Joe Pyfer suffered his first loss in the UFC to veteran Jack Hermansson. It was Pyfer’s first main event, and the stakes were high for the prospect who made a splash ever since his Dana White’s Contender Series performance in July 2022.
Ultimately, things didn’t go Pyfer’s way that night, as he lost by unanimous decision. The 28-year-old dealt with a handful of obstacles leading up to fight night and throughout the fight itself. He was the first to admit that he isn’t one to make excuses, but he feels like things might have panned out differently that night if it weren’t for those challenges. Looking back on things 13 months later, Pyfer is grateful the loss happened when it did.
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“I think that it was the best thing that happened to me, because there was a whole other side of MMA that I'd never dealt with, which was fans that switch up or people that just hate and come on your page and talk s***, tell you to kill yourself, all the negative things, and I never dealt with that until I had my first loss,” Pyfer said. “I think that pressure and that betrayal, feeling like, what the f***? I lost a decision and now everybody says I suck. I think that would've messed with me at some point.”
Of course, the loss stung for Pyfer, who has never shied away from showing his passionate feelings toward the fight game. But he accepts that it just wasn’t his night, and instead chose to look at the positives, which were that he went 25 minutes with a veteran of the sport and got to gain that experience.
That loss fueled him, and he was able to bounce back and get back to being Joe Pyfer. In June last year, Pyfer went out and did what he did best, securing a first-round knockout over Marc-Andre Barriault. For Pyfer, he said that win was huge for his psyche and to be able to right his wrongs from the Hermansson fight. Following that fight, he spent time recovering after undergoing back surgery that had been long overdue.
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And now “Bodybagz” is ready to return to action in his biggest test to date, Kelvin Gastelum.
“I love the fight,” Pyfer said. “Kelvin is a big name, and he fought for the title. He had some great fights for anybody and everybody, and I've watched them for a long time, since way before I was in the UFC. He's a goat. He has been in here for a minute and it's cool. It's good for my resume. It's good for me.”
Joe Pyfer | Best Finishes
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Joe Pyfer | Best Finishes
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Pyfer looks to ride the momentum that Marquez MMA in Philadelphia has going after his teammate Sean Brady picked up a big win over former welterweight champion Leon Edwards last weekend in London.
“Nobody really talks about our gym, except for us,” Pyfer said. “I think we're being recognized as a dangerous team, a very hard-working team, because we are. I'm proud of Sean. I'm happy to see it. It motivates me and it gives me a lot of encouragement to go do what I know I can do, which is flatline whoever my next opponent is, which is Kelvin.”
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Gastelum has been in the game for over 10 years, spending time competing at welterweight and middleweight. Last time out, he competed at middleweight and picked up a unanimous decision win over Daniel Rodriguez. Gastelum has never been knocked out in his career, while Pyfer has nine of his 13 wins by knockout.
Pyfer sees many paths to victory but is ultimately gunning for that Performance of the Night knockout.
“I do believe I can knock him out,” Pyfer said. “I think I'm a better boxer. I'm stronger, I'm faster. I'm bigger, for sure, but he's accustomed to that. He has fought everybody bigger. He's a veteran, and he swings wild, and he swings hard, too. He’s got power of his own. The only way I see myself losing is somehow I got knocked out, which has never happened to me. I'm a better athlete, better fighter, better everywhere, and that's what I look to prove.”
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Coming off the heels of his back surgery, Pyfer feels the healthiest he has ever been, and in the best shape of his life. Given that he feels 100 percent, he wants to be more active this year and in the future. And that starts with defeating a former title challenger and continuing his journey up the middleweight ladder.
“I'm f***ing lean, mean, ready to f*** this dude up. It's just business. It is what it is, but he's trying to take something from me, and I got to f***ing let him know that. That's going to be on my terms.”
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Erceg took place live from Arena CDMX in Mexico City on March 29, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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