Joe Pyfer believes he has bested the entire continent of Africa with his win over Abdul Razak Alhassan. ‘Bodybagz’ scored his third-straight W inside the Octagon at UFC Vegas 80, earning a slick second-round arm triangle submission against Alhassan, improving his overall record to 12-2. With the UFC’s ban on flags officially reversed, Pyfer proudly […]
Joe Pyfer believes he has bested the entire continent of Africa with his win over Abdul Razak Alhassan.
‘Bodybagz’ scored his third-straight W inside the Octagon at UFC Vegas 80, earning a slick second-round arm triangle submission against Alhassan, improving his overall record to 12-2.
With the UFC’s ban on flags officially reversed, Pyfer proudly draped the stars and stripes over his shoulder while delivering an impassioned post-fight speech with Daniel Cormier. Later on that evening, ‘Bodybagz’ sat down in front of members of the media and continued to share his joy over being able to represent the United States inside The APEX, flag and all.
Pyfer also suggested that his win over Alhassan, who hails from Ghana, was a win over the entire continent of Africa.
“To be able to walk about with the flag… I’m one of the top 20 in the world of athletes in an organization that says they have the best in the world, so I’ll consider myself that,” Pyfer said at the post-fight press event. “I’ll stroke my ego and I get to walk out and represent the U.S.A. And I just beat Africa. It means a lot to me.”
"I get to walk out and represent USA. And I just beat Africa. Means a lot to me."
There are 54 countries in Africa and apparently, Joe Pyfer beat them all on Saturday night.
Joe Pyfer Ready for the Next Level in Competition
All jokes and ill-advised comments aside, Joe Pyfer is on the fast track to superstardom after earning three straight finishes against Alen Amedovski, Gerald Meerschaert, and Alhassan.
Undeniably impressive in those performances, Pyfer is ready to take a step up in competition. So long as the money’s right.
“I’m just saying if you want me to fight the top guys, I respect these men,” Pyfer said. “They’re all tough. They’re the best in the world. But just let me fight for some of the money that’s the best in the world. I don’t want to be guaranteed less than a certain amount if I lost, by taking a chance. That’s all.”
DWCS alumnus Joe Pyfer scored his third-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday night in the UFC Vegas 80 co-main event. Pyfer came out looking to end things early in the opening round of his fight with Abdul Razak Alhassan. The first round was nothing short of a slugfest with Pyfer nearly locking in a […]
DWCS alumnus Joe Pyfer scored his third-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday night in the UFC Vegas 80 co-main event.
Pyfer came out looking to end things early in the opening round of his fight with Abdul Razak Alhassan. The first round was nothing short of a slugfest with Pyfer nearly locking in a standing triangle choke early on. Alhassan successfully defended the hold and began pummeling Pyfer’s lead leg, but it wasn’t enough to stop Pyfer from practically taking Alhassan down at will.
Just past the 90-second mark of the second round, Pyfer picked up Alhassan against the fence and slammed his man to the mat. Pyfer immediately began fishing for another triangle choke and managed to lock it in and position himself to put as much pressure on Alhassan as possible. Two minutes into the round, Alhassan appeared to tap out but did so with a fist preventing the referee from stepping in and calling for the stoppage until it was clear that Alhassan was unconscious.
Official Result: Joe Pyfer def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:05 of Round 2.
Check Out Highlights From Joe Pyfer vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Vegas 80 Below:
— Underrated MMA Performances (@FinishesUfc) October 8, 2023
Joe Pyfer chokes out Abdul Razzak Al Hassan. In my opinion, Pyfer looked a bit sloppy today. 3-4 more leg kicks and he would have been in trouble. Also. Not even trolling. JDM sleeps him. Easy money. #UFCVEGAS80https://t.co/LCYOsFWKOvpic.twitter.com/kgYf6m6aP0
The UFC has grown exponentially in the years since its inception way back in 1993. While the sport of MMA has come a long way since the days of groin strikes, headbutts and Tank Abbott, the demands placed on the global leader to satisfy an ever-growing audience in this social media-driven world has led to […]
The UFC has grown exponentially in the years since its inception way back in 1993. While the sport of MMA has come a long way since the days of groin strikes, headbutts and Tank Abbott, the demands placed on the global leader to satisfy an ever-growing audience in this social media-driven world has led to a swollen roster of contracted fighters.
The need to provide content to fulfil contractual obligations with TV networks has meant an increase in the overall number of events the UFC are pumping out these days. There are 53 shows scheduled to take place in 2024 alone, between pay-per-view events and ‘Fight Night’ cards, spread out over international locations such as Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Abu Dhabi, Australia and of course, the United States.
With many of these events taking place in the relatively low-key surroundings of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, some of these cards have become less about putting fans in seats and more about ticking off fights on some fighters’ contracts. The biggest names are being kept for the pay-per-views and the rest are being wheeled out with the sole purpose of filling in the gaps.
This Saturday’s Fight Night event (set to be headlined by a strawweight rematch between Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba) is another card loaded with fights lacking in jeopardy and unlikely to have any telling effect on the title picture in any of the UFC weight divisions.
With that in mind, let’s look at five of the more underwhelming main events the UFC have offered up so far in 2024.
Roman Dolidze vs Nassourdine Imavov, UFC Fight Night, February 3rd (UFC Apex)
The UFC’ had a somewhat slow start to 2024. January brought us an underwhelming Fight Night card followed by a PPV event in Canada that lacked star names outside of the main event between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. Coming into February, UFC fans were desperately in need of some high-stakes entertainment.
The Apex middleweight showdown between Dolidze and Imavov was not it. A main card entirely devoid of ranked fighters (outside of the main event) offered up one draw and four decisions, with only Randy Brown’s first-round knockout of Muslim Salikhov managing to give viewers something to get them out of their seats.
Both main event fighters came into this event in stuttering form. Dolidze hadn’t been seen in competitive action since losing to Marvin Vettori eleven months earlier, while Imavov was coming off the back of a difficult 2023. A decision loss to Sean Strickland early in the year was followed by his summer bout with Chris Curtis being declared a “no contest” after an accidental clash of heads.
A majority decision victory for Nassourdine Imavov after twenty-five less-than-inspiring minutes followed. Both fighters picked up victories last month and seem to be rising through the ranks at 185lbs, but their clash at the Apex last February is not one that will live long in the memory of many UFC fans.
Joe Pyfer vs Jack Hermansson, UFC Fight Night, February 10th (UFC Apex)
A week later, with UFC 298 on the horizon and the MMA news cycle being dominated by the build-up to Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria, fans were treated to another Apex event with a middleweight headliner. This time, admittedly, there was a little more intrigue surrounding the headline match-up as Joe Pyfer was coming off the back of an unbeaten start to his UFC career. “Bodybagz” had won all three of his fights inside the Octagon to that point, and finishes over Alen Amedovski, Gerald Meerschaert and Abdul Razak Alhassan had earmarked the 26-year-old as a fighter worth keeping an eye on.
Jack Hermansson looked like he was being positioned as the man to give up his place in the rankings to Pyfer. The Swede was returning from a year-long absence due to injury and had lost three of his previous five bouts at 185lbs. Against the odds, however, Hermansson derailed the Pyfer hype train and, after a strong opening two rounds from Pyfer, “The Joker” picked off his opponent from range over the remainder of the fight and walked away with a 48-47 scorecard from each of the three judges.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Shamil Gaziev, UFC Fight Night, March 2nd (UFC Apex)
UFC 298 and the Fight Night that was held in Mexico City a week later gave fans a reminder of how good the atmosphere can be when big crowds and exciting fights are paired together. Ilia Topuria’s title victory in Anaheim, California followed by Brandon Royval’s win over Brandon Moreno the following week meant February had its’ fair share of entertainment inside the Octagon.
Fans were brought back down to earth with a bang on March 2nd however, as perennial heavyweight gatekeeper Jairzinho Rozenstruik was paired with Shamil Gaziev. Although Gaziev came into this event unbeaten at 12-0, the Bahraini fighter had only made one appearance inside the Octagon so far and many fans seemed perplexed at his positioning in the headline slot of a UFC event so soon.
Image: Jairzinho Rozenstruik IG
The gulf in class was evident as Gaziev was utterly dominated by “Bigi Boy” from the off. After four one-sided rounds, a bruised and battered Gaziev was deemed unfit to continue following an inspection by referee Marc Goddard. Not only did Gaziev pick up the first loss of his professional career, his positioning in the main event slot so soon after signing with the UFC drew plenty of criticism from fans and fighters alike.
Marcin Tybura vs Tai Tuivasa, UFC Fight Night, March 16th (UFC Apex)
Just two weeks later, in the wake of UFC 299, the “new normal” resumed in the UFC Apex as heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Tai Tuivasa collided in the main event of an event that featured such names as Ange Loosa, Isaac Dulgarian and Brian Battle on the main card.
Tybura’s first-round submission victory would be his eighth win in ten fights helping the Polish fighter break into the top ten of the UFC’s heavyweight rankings. His opponent however was riding a three-fight losing streak coming into this bout and with the Australian taking significant damage in his defeats to Cyril Gane, Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich, the discussion among the MMA community in the wake of this defeat centred around whether or not “Bam Bam” should retire.
As it would turn out, Tybura made quick work of Tuivasa and the fight didn’t even see two minutes of action. Another underwhelming main event into the books, then.
Derrick Lewis vs Rodrigo Nascimento, UFC on ESPN+ 32, May 11th (St. Louis)
April brought fight fans one of the most memorable fight cards in the history of the sport. UFC 300 was packed from top to bottom with current or former champions, and the knockouts delivered by Alex Pereira and Max Holloway during the main card will go down in history as two of the most exciting finishes inside the Octagon.
Lewis knocked out Nascimento in the main event but the fight failed to cause a ripple in the heavyweight rankings. “The Black Beast” had lost four of his previous six fights and is unlikely to enter the heavyweight title discussion anytime soon, while Nascimento had won three consecutive split-decision victories over unranked opponents prior to facing Lewis.
It seems in the modern world of the UFC, for every title fight or number-one contender match-up fans are granted, they are doomed to sit through multiple filler events behind closed doors at the UFC Apex.
UFC middleweight veteran Paul Craig was left confused by Joe Pyfer’s agitated callout following his UFC 303 victory. Pyfer made a statement in his return to the win column late last month at the International Fight Week pay-per-view, bouncing back from his first UFC setback in emphatic and violent fashion. Months on from a decision […]
Months on from a decision defeat to Jack Hermansson in their UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex, “Bodybagz” was back putting his finishing ability on full display at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, where he stopped Canada’s Marc-André Barriault in less than 90 seconds.
In the aftermath, a fired up Pyfer set his sights back on securing a place in the middleweight top 15, this time by targeting the formerly ranked Paul Craig.
More than just a random callout, the New Jersey native revealed a grudge he’s held for months as the motive behind his desire to share the cage with the Scottish vet.
“He just looked at me weird one time and I don’t even think he remembers, but I hold grudges, so f*ck him,” Pyfer said at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference. “I don’t like the dude. That’s the only thing I can say is I don’t really like the guy. There’s something about his f*cking face. It’s also his antics. He gets in your face and be all theatrical, but then he gets touched, and he falls on to the ground like a back princess.
“I think it makes sense, too. Logistically, I think it makes sense. He was number 14, and then he fought Caio (Borralho) and lost. I don’t know where he’s at, if 15 or just outside the rankings, and I’m number 19, so let’s line it up,” Pyfer continued. “That’s what I’m interested in, so why not?”
Craig Bemused By Pyfer’s Reasoning For ‘Disliking’ Him
During a recent episode of his Leather’d Podcast, Craig was shown Pyfer clarifying his reasoning behind calling him out during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
The clip showed “Bodybagz” recalling crossing paths with Craig while in attendance at Boston’s TD Garden for UFC 292 last August. Pyfer appeared offended not to have been given some sort of nod of respect from “Bearjew.”
Suffice to say, Craig was baffled by that justification.
“I don’t (know who he is). A guy nods at me, ‘What the f*ck, who is this guy?’” Craig said. “So what was it, in Boston I didn’t give him a nod? That’s f*cking — this guy’s f*cked in the head (laughs). Man, if that’s what gets you hard.
“So he’s been since Boston thinking about this, ‘This guy never gave me a nod. How could he do that?!’ Like, who the f*ck are you?” Craig continued. “It was a good knockout (at UFC 303). Gotta give him props for that.”
It remains to be seen whether Pyfer will get the opportunity to settle what appears to be a firmly one-sided feud, and one which Craig didn’t even know existed until a couple of weeks ago.
UFC middleweight Joe Pyfer recently described the journey he’s had to make it to the Octagon, including an extremely troublesome childhood. Pyfer has quickly established himself as one of the leading prospects to keep an eye on in MMA’s pre…
UFC middleweight Joe Pyfer recently described the journey he’s had to make it to the Octagon, including an extremely troublesome childhood. Pyfer has quickly established himself as one of the leading prospects to keep an eye on in MMA’s premier promotion. Whilst he initially saw his chance to join the UFC fall away when he…
UFC middleweight prospect Joe Pyfer returned home a happy man following this past weekend’s Las Vegas-held card, but not just because of his in-cage success… Following a breakout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in July, w…
UFC middleweight prospect Joe Pyfer returned home a happy man following this past weekend’s Las Vegas-held card, but not just because of his in-cage success… Following a breakout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in July, which saw him emerge as the only contract-winner on the episode, Pyfer made a quick turnaround to appear in…
DWCS alumnus Joe Pyfer scored his third-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday night in the UFC Vegas 80 co-main event. Pyfer came out looking to end things early in the opening round of his fight with Abdul Razak Alhassan. The first round was nothing short of a slugfest with Pyfer nearly locking in a […]
