Middleweight contenders will meet in the UFC Apex on Saturday February 10th as a rising star finds himself in his first main event as he takes on his highest ranked opponent to date.
Joe ‘Bodybagz’ Pyfer faces the number 11 ranked Jack ‘The Joker’ Hermansson in a 185lbs contest which is set to see if the high flying prospect can overcome the gritty veteran and is ready to break into the top 15 at Middleweight.
Pyfer will compete against a ranked opponent in only his fourth fight for the promotion. After signing with the UFC on the back of a second round victory over Ozzy Diaz, in a performance that seriously impressed UFC CEO Dana White, on 2022 season of the Contender Series, he fought just two months later in his promotional debut.
He made quick work of Alen Amedovski at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Song, dispatching of the Macedonian with a brutal right hand knock out. Pyfer was then matched in against UFC veteran Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 287. Once again, Pyfer displayed his outstanding striking and landed another huge TKO and very quickly started ascending through the division.
After two UFC bouts and two knockouts, the 27-year-old's grappling prowess was on display for all to see when he submitted Abdul Razak Alhassan in the second round of their contest at UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs Green.
Signing with the UFC in 2016, Hermansson picked up a 3-2 record in his first five fights with the promotion. His best run with them, thus far, came following a defeat to Thiago Santos. ‘The Joker’ then picked up four wins on the bounce against Thales Leites, Gerald Meerschaert, David Branch and Ronaldo Souza.
This then led to a headline bout against Jarod Cannonier on September 28th, 2019. The Killa Gorilla proved to be too much for Hermansson and appeared to be the start of a difficult time for the Swedish man, who has only competed 6 times since, with an even 3-3 record from those bouts.
Ahead of the matchup, former UFC welterweight title challenger and globally respected fight analyst Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy dives into the X’s and O’s of the matchup as he breaks down the matchup in “The War Room.”
Check out Dan’s analysis via the video below:
