Longtime middleweight contender Jack Hermansson has alternated wins and losses in his last eight fights, now into his mid-30s and teetering in the back half of the division’s top-15 rankings. Joe Pyfer, a Contender Series alum with a trio of stoppage victories to open his UFC stint, finds himself a golden opportunity to show exactly why he’s the trending superstar he declares this weekend.
Pyfer predicts knockout win vs. ‘slow’ Hermansson
Why fix a winning formula? We’ve been here at this juncture multiple times before across weight divisions, and it’s a dynamic that won’t change anytime soon either.
Ever-growing prospect pitted against bullish contender in a weight class where championship gold has changed four times in the last 10 months, makes for compelling viewing – even if Jack Hermansson isn’t the most fan-friendly attraction, because of who’ll be standing opposite him in the Octagon this weekend.
Joe Pyfer responded well to the injury-enforced defeat he suffered on his first Contender Series appearance post-pandemic, returning even more fierce and quickly proving a force you couldn’t help but take notice of, after stringing together a trio of wins (two knockouts, one submission) in 13 months under the UFC banner.
Hermansson’s resolve has been chipped away with exhausting battles against similar level opposition – top 10 ranked fighters – to the point where the promotion’s matchmaking bosses deem this a step-up their 27-year-old prospect can pass.
8-15, UFC middleweight rankings
8: Nassourdine Imavov, up #3
9: Khamzat Chimaev
10: Roman Dolidze, down #2
11: Jack Hermansson, down #1
12-15: Paul Craig, Chris Curtis, Anthony Hernandez, Caio Borralho
During an interview with Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter, Pyfer said he believes he’s growing into his element and this weekend is the latest installment of such.
“I wouldn’t describe it as being thrusted into a spot, I think I’ve earned this. I’ve finished three fights, I’ve made sure I’m exciting, I say what I’m going to do, go out there and back it up.
I think I’m a draw – becoming one anyway – a trending superstar, and if everything goes as I expect it to Saturday, I think I’m on that superstar level. On the way to that level.”
By contrast, his opponent is aware of the stakes. Yet while he has always felt two or three wins away from a true title shot, the Swedish-born Norwegian doesn’t want to be a gatekeeper for those rising upstarts building their name at his expense.
He told Bronsteter: “You don’t want to be a gatekeeper to the younger guys, but when you lose a fight [like against Roman Dolidze], that’s what’s happening.
I need to get back in there, win my fight and show everybody I still belong at the top, that I can take on someone above me [in the rankings].”
Rob Font did similar against Adrian Yanez, the same issue is one Chris Curtis and Neil Magny have been grappling with – no pun intended – over recent years while I covered the well-documented issue seeing Michael Chiesa called out elsewhere.
MMA continues to evolve and with it, the best minds are getting younger. Older fighters rightly being celebrated, sure, but with an increasing range of film study and expertise gleaned from training, the gaps aren’t as big as they were a decade ago.
Pyfer praised the veteran for his overall game, but said there’s not one outstanding skill in the Nordic’s arsenal and he will quickly get to work trying not only to prevail, but make a statement doing so. By contrast, Hermansson kept it short and sweet.
“I don’t feel like I need to prove I hit harder than him – [moreso] that I’m better in other areas of the game than the power.”
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via mmajunkie
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