That evening’s show, the first of the sixth season of Contender Series, saw the event marred by uninspiring fighting. In three of the four fights in that episode, the winners were determined by the scorecards. Joe Pyfer’s victory over future UFC fighter Ozzy Diaz was the only stoppage of the evening.
When handing out the contracts at the end of the evening, Dana White simply but powerfully said: “I don’t care what you’ve done in your career for the last five years. What are you going to do tonight? So when you come in here next week, the next crew on Tuesday, show me who you are Tuesday night! That’s the only thing I’m worried about. If you want to get into the UFC and this is where you want to be, act like Joe Pyfer! Be Joe Pyfer!”
Joe Pyfer rolls into Seattle for Adesanya Tilt on March 28
On Tuesday, the UFC confirmed that the next fight for No. 15 middleweight contender Joe Pyfer would take place as the main event of the March 28 UFC Seattle show. The Climate Pledge Arena-hosted card sees Pyfer take to the legendary Octagon against No. 6 contender and former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC).
This will be a five-round fight of five minutes per round to close out the show. It will also be Adesanya’s first in almost fourteen months. In February last year, Adesanya was viciously knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov just seconds into the second round of a scheduled five in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
If Joe Pyfer gets his way on the second Saturday night of spring, there will be even more aggression on the menu in the Pacific Northwest.
Joe Pyfer Details Scrubbed Costa booking on Ariel Helwani show
During the day the Wednesday edition of The Ariel Helwani Show, Pyfer, nicknamed ‘Bodybagz’, was one of Helwani’s guests. He revealed that Israel Adesanya wasn’t the first fighter the promotion wanted to book against him for the month of March.
“I was initially offered Paulo Costa,” Joe Pyfer began. “I love that fight, it used to be one of my dream fights, but I think he’s pulling out of a lot of fights. I think he’s a big guy, so I’m happy to see him go to 205. I think that suits him better.”
Pyfer first heard of the promotion’s intentions to book him for March of this year in December and immediately accepted the opportunity to star in “The Last Stylebender.”
“It’s a win-win situation,” he said. “There is no loss, no matter the outcome, there is no loss. This is a life-changing moment for me. He is, in my opinion, perhaps the best middleweight of all time. To take that fight, knowing he doesn’t have much left, it’s an honor, man.”
Joe Pyfer aims for aggression on March 28 in Seattle
While Joe Pyfer and Israel Adesanya have exchanged pleasantries in the past, all cordiality will be put aside when the final event in the first quarter of the UFC schedule takes place.
“I don’t care if people really like me that much [anymore]” he said. “One thing I want to be known for is that I have this opportunity and I definitely bring the heat. I’m going to try to be the first to stop him in a really bad way. “I hope we’re both healthy after this, but I know that more than anyone else in this division, I’m capable of really hurting someone if they don’t move.”
Helwani said oddsmakers have Joe Pyfer listed as a slight favorite for the UFC Seattle main event. The number 15 candidate is not really concerned about the betting at the moment.
‘I think it’s people who sleep through the night [Adesanya,] because he’s on a three-fight losing streak,” he mused. “They’re for the best guys in the world and for the active guys in the world. You can’t look at the odds too much. This is one of the best guys in the world. He was one of the longest defending middleweight champions in the world, aside from Anderson Silva, and he is the ‘Stylebender.’
Final thoughts
Joe Pyfer hasn’t lost the spark that brought him to the UFC when he scored that knockout against Ozzy Diaz in 2022. Will the spark be there when the calendar moves forward to the third month of the year in Puget Sound?
Only time will tell.
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