UFC Vegas 86‘s headliner showed a fight where veteran experience played a crucial part in securing a win.
Joe Pyfer has taken the UFC by storm with 3 finishes in 3 UFC fights. The Marquez MMA product trains along the likes of Sean Brady, Andre Petroski, and fellow fighter on the card, Jeremiah Wells. Pyfer had a slightly unorthodox rise to popularity, as a win on DWCS flung him into the spotlight.
Pyfer was the main event of a fairly lackluster card and ended the night with a big second-round KO. With the win being the night’s only finish, Dana quickly jumped on the Pyfer train and signed him without hesitation. A rant by the president followed the show, where he proclaimed that everyone should “be like Joe Pyfer” when they come on the Contender Series.
That quote has stood strong throughout Pyfer’s UFC career, as he is yet to pass the second round in his 3-0 UFC career. He’s taken out the likes of Gerald Meerschaert and Abdul Razak Alhassan in his last two, proving he can deal with tougher competition.
Jack Hermansson on the other hand is a veteran in the UFC. Holding a 10-6 record in the promotion, he’s been a mainstay of the top 15 since 2019. Since being in the top 15, Hermansson has traded between wins and losses in his last 8 fights. Hermansson’s only losses come to the division’s best in Sean Strickland, Jared Cannonier, Roman Dolidze, and Marvin Vettori.
Hermansson serves the perfect test to see if a fighter belongs in the top 10 of the middleweight division. He’ll look to test if Pyfer can reach that next level or if he’ll struggle with a grizzled veteran such as Jack Hermansson.
Recap
Joe Pyfer started the first round very strong, stunning Hermansson and forcing his back to the cage for nearly all 5 minutes. The second round saw continued success for Pyfer but also marked the longest fight in his UFC career. With the tides starting to turn, Hermansson started to work his jab while impacting Pyfer’s movement with leg kicks. The last two rounds saw little resistance from the prospect as Hermansson was in complete control at this point. The leg kicks had completely stifled Pyfer’s movement and allowed Hermansson to take over.
The scorecards read 48-47 across the board for Jack Hermansson who takes out yet another rising star. The win is his 11th in the promotion and showed how much he has grown throughout his UFC career. Hermansson called out Nassourdine Imavov, the winner of last week’s main event, to a showdown later this year.
UFC Fighters React to Jack Hermansson Putting the Ice on Joe Pyfer
See what UFC fighters had to say about Jack Hermansson’s veteran performance:
What did you think of Jack Hermansson’s performance over Joe Pyfer? Who should he fight next? Let us know in the comments below.
