Jack Hermansson upsets the odds, defeats Joe Pyfer in UFC Vegas 86 main event
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to us tonight, February 10, 2024, for UFC Vegas 86, going down live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
Headlining the event was a middleweight matchup between no. 11 ranked Jack Hermansson (24-8) and Joe Pyfer (12-3).
Following a 6-1 run from 2017 to 2019, Hermansson came into tonight’s main event having gone 3-4 over his latest seven appearances, those wins coming over Kelvin Gastelum (heel hook), Edmen Shahbazyan (UD), and Chris Curtis.
Pyfer on the other hand had gone a perfect 3-0 into his promotional tenure to date, having defeated the likes of Alen Amedovski (TKO), Gerald Meerschaert (TKO), and Abdul Razak Alhassan (arm-triangle choke).
Continue reading to see how our middleweight main event of the evening went down:
Official Result: Jack Hermansson def. Joe Pyfer via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Pyfer lands a hard left hook right out of the gate, followed by another and a nasty calf kick in the first 20 seconds of the bout. He continues his pressure, landing his jab, left hook, and calf kicks throughout the opening round. Pyfer finds his timing to land a good right hand toward the end of the round as well.
Hermansson has a much better round two, checking many of the calf kicks thrown his way and also blocking most of the punches thrown his way. He also controlled the center of the octagon through much of the second.
Hermansson really starts to pick Pyfer apart in the third, landing his jab at will and chewing up the lead leg of Pyfer with kicks. He also lands two good knees to the body followed by right hands. Hermansson also lands a splitting jab in the third that immediately backs Pyfer up, landing a hard right hand soon thereafter.
Pyfer lands a good left hook that backs Hermansson up as round three comes to a close, trying to follow up with more heavy shots to end the fight.
Pyfer does well in the first half of round four, the first fourth round he’s ever seen, though as the round goes on Hermansson starts to turn the tide again. Pyfer lands some good punches early in the round and presses Hermansson into the fence, though Hermansson escapes each time and sticks him with that jab of his followed by more calf kicks.
Though he put in a good effort, Pyfer was taken down midway through the fifth and final round, ending the fight exhausted and on his back. From someone that hasn’t seen a round three since his second fight ever, he showed up tough tonight but was ultimately out-struck, out-paced, and out-classed by the more experienced, more well-rounded fighter.
Jack Hermansson is no stranger to upsetting the odds; he did the same to Jacare Souza (UD), Kelvin Gastelum (heel hook), and Chris Curtis (UD) in his most recent victory. He just did it again tonight with this win over Joe Pyfer (UD) tonight in UFC Vegas 86’s main event.
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