Joe Pyfer hasn’t lost any confidence after suffering his first UFC setback.
The main event of UFC Vegas 86 on Saturday saw the fast-rising middleweight have his momentum halted by the battle-tested Jack Hermansson. After getting out to a fast start, Pyfer couldn’t keep up with Hermansson in the final three rounds and he went on to lose to “The Joker” by unanimous decision.
Afterward, Pyfer posted a video on his Instagram Stories in which he gave his take on the fight and sent a strong message to his doubters.
“I just want to say I’m OK despite how my face looks,” Pyfer said. “I wasn’t rocked. I got punched in the eyeball, couldn’t see. He did a good job on the calf. I feel like the eye, when I lost vision, I fell that round, I lost that round and I just couldn’t get it back, and he did a good job on the calf.
“For all my haters: Suck a fat d***. I wasn’t supposed to be here anyway. I give it 100 percent every time and we’ll make adjustments and we’ll come back. Thank you to all my sponsors, thank you to everybody that supports me. Good job, Jack.”
Pyfer entered his first UFC main event with plenty of hype behind him after scoring finishes in his past five fights, including a 3-0 mark inside the octagon. However, against the most experienced opponent of his career, Pyfer couldn’t manage enough offense to get past Hermansson.
At 27, the middleweight prospect looks to have plenty of time to rebound from this disappointment.