All pressure on Israel Adesanya: Joe Pyfer flips script ahead of fight with GOAT
Whenever you’re going to step into the octagon against a fighter known to be one of the greatest of all time, there are bound to be nerves. Joe Pyfer heads into UFC Fight Night on Saturday, March 28, with the job of welcoming back former UFC Middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
The Last Stylebender is coming into the bout, not in the best of form. Since getting his revenge on Alex Pereira and winning the middleweight strap for the second time, Adesanya has gone on a three-fight losing streak. This included a decision loss to Sean Strickland, a submission defeat to Dricus du Plessis and then getting knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov. He went on a 14-month hiatus after this, the longest of his career.
Despite this, Adesanya is considered the favourite heading into the fight. After all, he is someone who enjoyed one of the quickest runs to the top of the division. Pyfer is well aware of the noise around the former UFC middleweight champion, but the plans, according to the former Dana White’s Contender Series grad remains simple: He is treating it like any other fight.
“Just gotta change the tactics a little bit. The game plan is different, per fight. But I am preparing for 5 rounds and just really studying Adesanya and what he likes to do and what his cells are. So yeah, just like any other fight,” said Pyfer to India Today.
Pyfer is on a three-fight winning streak and is 6-1 in his UFC career. Many feel that he is on the rise while Adesanya, despite being 36, is heading in the opposite direction. But the American doesn’t seem to believe it is true. When it came to the pressure element, he said that he is facing none of it while it will all be on Adesanya to perform and come out on top. In fact, he is happy with the underdog tag against Adesanya.
“He’s still one of the best in the world. He’s definitely the GOAT of the middleweights, and he’s not old. It’s not like he looked terrible in his last three fights. It’s not like he looked slow. He got caught, that’s fine. That is what it is, but I still think he’s one of the best and I think he’s motivated and he’s here to fight. So I don’t feel any pressure. All the pressure’s on him to see if he’s still gonna be the same. I’m the guy who, on paper shouldn’t be able to compete with him,” said Pyfer.
LEANING INTO FAITH
One of the striking features about Pyfer over the years has been how he has gotten rid of his angry persona to a calmer one. Openly admitting a new connection with faith and Jesus Christ, he is aiming to use that as a way to tackle all the media attention this fight will have.
“There’s definitely noise. I could definitely let this moment get to me and be bigger than what it is. But I don’t really feel like it’s that big. I know the magnitude of the fight is very big, but I don’t feel that because of all the things that have happened in my life, I’ve done a lot of interviews about it.”
“I’m just leaning on my faith and my prayer and just trusting that whatever is supposed to happen will happen and kind of letting go of what I can’t control.”
Pyfer is currently 14th in the middleweight rankings and a win against Adesanya would surely get him within the top 10. But his approach is to just fight and forget about the numbers next to him. His mantra is simple. Fight whoever is put in front of him. When it comes to Adesanya, show no fear.
“It doesn’t matter what numbers are next to my name. I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me, and I’ll try to destroy whoever they put in front of me. So right now it’s Israel, and although I respect him, I do not fear him, and I will walk in there and implement my game plan and be vicious,” said Pyfer.
And this faith and simplicity he carries now remains when it comes to his goals in the sport. For him, it is just to compete and see if he can really excel with the best in the business.
“My goal is just to see how far I can take this. That was always my goal when I got into MMA. It was to see was if I was true to myself, with what I believe, I could compete with the best, beat the best, and I could fight at the highest level.”
“I think I’ve shown I can fight at the highest level. This is the absolute highest level, so, we’ll see if it’s even competitive, right? I think it’s a win-win no matter what happens for me in the Adesanya fight. Obviously, I’m campaigning for a win, and, god willing, I will get it,” said Pyfer.
Watch UFC Fight Night – Adesanya vs Pyfer on 29th March, 2026 from 5:30 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil & Telugu).
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