Will Joe Pyfer make a statement against Jack Hermansson? What’s at stake?
Returning to the APEX this weekend, Joe Pyfer and Jack Hermansson are squaring off in another middleweight bout. This is being set up to be a coming out part for Joe Pyfer. But Hermansson has been here before and will look to deny the entry to the top ten for the hard-hitting Pyfer.
Joe Pyfer: Hype
There is a lot of hype coming in with Joe Pyfer. After earning his spot on the Contender Series, he’s gone 3-0 with wins over Alen Amendovski, Gerald Meerschaert and Abdul Razak Al-Hassan. All three of those wins were via finish.
Funnily enough, Pyfer and Meerschaert “rematched” in a grappling match last May which Pyfer also won.
Those three wins earned Pyfer an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience where it was said that he broke Francis N’Gannou’s record at the APEX training center punching power machine. With all of that hype behind him, Joe Pyfer will look to capitalize and build a bigger brand for himself.
That is, unless the Joker has something to say about it.
Jack Hermansson: The old vet
Once upon a time, Jack Hermansson was one of the younger fighters in the middleweight division. Over time, he beat names like David Branch, Jacare Souza, and Kelvin Gastelum. He was on the brink of a title shot and ran into Jared Cannonier, who sparked him in round two.
Since that loss to Cannonier, Hermansson has had his ups and downs. He dropped fights to Marvin Vettori, Sean Strickland, and Roman Dolidze. But since that loss, he has also played the spoiler, prevention the ascension of Edmen Shahbazyan and Chris Curtis. They looked to use his name as a steppingstone to the elite and were promptly denied.
Hermansson finds himself, once again, facing a tough contender in Joe Pyfer. Will he go the way of Sean Strickland, who won the title after beating Hermansson, or will “The Joker” deny Pyfer as he did Shahbazyan and Curtis?
Saturday we will find out.
