Joe Pyfer (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), a 2022 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, was gearing up for a fight two months ago in Mexico City against Kelvin Gastelum (19-9, 1 NC MMA, 13-9, 1 NC UFC) on a UFC Fight Night card. However, on the day of the card, the former took ill, resulting in the fight being postponed.
“Just want to say my heart is broken that I couldn’t fight today,” Joe Pyfer began in his Instagram story on March 29. “I got super sick and hopefully, we can reschedule this fight for a few weeks from now. Unfortunately, [it] comes with the territory of traveling outside the states. Never again, my apologies, guys.”
Within 10 days of the originally-scheduled bout having to be postponed due to Pyfer’s illness, UFC officials worked to rebook the pair for a card later in the spring, landing on next Saturday night, June 7 for the reschedule. Prudential Center in Newark, NJ will be the setting for the rebooked contest during UFC 316.
Joe Pyfer Discusses Canceled Gastelum Fight on The Ariel Helwani Show
Recently, Joe Pyfer was a guest of The Ariel Helwani Show. During the interview on the Wednesday show, he talked about regretting his inability to fight on the originally-scheduled date this past March.
“Trust me, man: If I could have fought, I would have,” Pyfer said to Helwani. “I’ve never not fought. I fought Jack Hermansson after having pneumonia the whole camp, and then I had two staph infections going in there, and I still fought. If I can fight, I will, and that was just not a situation [where] I could fight, man. I wasn’t going to become a meme of ‘Poopy-Pants Pyfer’, as they call me now.”
Unfortunate alliterative nicknames aside, Joe Pyfer mentioned that he didn’t know the exact origin of his illness that caused him to miss out on the March 29 contest versus Gastelum.
“Maybe, [it] was that Montezuma’s Revenge-type deal,” Pyfer said. “I don’t know if that’s an actual illness, but essentially, I had a fever. So, I got sick the second day I was there and then I was fine.”
Joe Pyfer Turns Attention to Rescheduled Bout vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Later on in the interview, Joe Pyfer opened up about fighting Kelvin Gastelum inside the United States on the night of June 7.
“I was scared that I wasn’t going to be able to run it back with him,” he said of the rescheduled bout. “I think this is a great opportunity for me. I think [that] this fight is one of [those] layups for me to really perform and it’s no discredit to him. I have respect for him and I haven’t heard him say anything, to my knowledge, of him talking (expletive deleted), or I’d have a different demeanor. I think he’s been respectful, I think I’ve been respectful of him.”
Pyfer mentioned his feelings toward Kelvin Gastelum accepting a rebooked fight on June 7 in New Jersey.
“They were like, ‘You know, he doesn’t have to accept it’-type deal,” he said. “I was very relieved when they gave me the date and it was far enough out. Like I said, I had complications that first month [after the canceled fight] with my stomach still and it really sucked. The fact that it’s only an hour and 20 minutes from where I live, yeah, I can’t beat that. It’s amazing.
Joe Pyfer Gets Important “Home Game” with Rescheduled Bout at UFC 316
When Joe Pyfer was initially booked to fight Kelvin Gastelum during UFC Mexico City at the outset of the spring season, he was facing a trip outside of the United States of America. With the contest having been postponed to next weekend, the fight vs. Gastelum now becomes a showcase for him to score a victory at 185 lbs in front of his friends and family.
Psychologically speaking, a fight inside Prudential Center has to be a major boon for Pyfer and his camp as the final days to the fight begin to tick down. Joe Pyfer has only lost one fight since joining the UFC active roster by way of Contender Series back in 2022.
Given that Pyfer is now fighting on a flagship UFC event, the stakes are higher than they were for the original contest on March 29. Will Joe Pyfer emerge victorious from the June 7 fight vs. Kelvin Gastelum?
