Because he says he “wasn’t supposed to be here anyway,” Joe Pyfer seemed to be taking things in stride in the early hours after Jack Hermansson put a halt to his momentum. Hermansson (24-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) was down two rounds on the scorecards to Pyfer (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 236 main event, but rallied to win the last three rounds for a 48-47 unanimous decision sweep of the scorecards at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After a much-documented arm injury TKO loss from a Dustin Stoltzfus slam on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, Pyfer worked his way back and got another crack at the UFC on DWCS and came through with a TKO win. When he told White afterward he was on the verge of homelessness, White made sure he had a place to live for a year and then told future DWCS fighters they needed to “Be Joe Pyfer” in their attitudes and effort if they wanted to make it into the UFC. Related Jack Hermansson: Nassourdine Imavov fight makes sense after UFC Fight Night 236 upset of Joe Pyfer UFC Fight Night 236 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Multiple veterans net max non-title money Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC Fight Night 236 where, c'mon, people – there's more than one Red Hot Chili Peppers song Pyfer’s first three middleweight fights in the UFC were stoppage wins, including for a pair of $50,000 bonuses, and it looked every bit like he was on an ascension toward title contender status – especially in a 185-pound division that never has been more chaotic in the UFC.
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Joe Pyfer breaks down lessons learned in upset loss in first UFC main event – MMA Junkie