Media Joe Pyfer confident he has power to be first to KO Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Mexico

TCE

"That's fucking illegal"
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I think it's a decision for Pyfer here, Gastelum has never been KO'd and been in there with fucking savages. I don't think Pyfer will be the first dude to KO Kelvin. Tapology results all think Pyfer KO's him though....



“I love the matchup. I thought it was very exciting,” Pyfer told MMA Junkie. “The guy likes to bring it, and he’s entertaining to watch. I would say as of lately, his performances haven’t been Kelvin of old, but I do believe he did his best work at middleweight. I know my teammate beat him in Sean Brady, but we’re two completely different fighters and that’s a question that’s been popping up a bunch, but our styles are different. Sean is an amazing grappler, I’m a good grappler. I’m a great striker, I think, and I want to be the first guy to knock Kelvin out. So yeah, when I saw the matchup, I thought it was a great fight for me.”

Gastelum (18-9 MMA, 13-9 UFC) has fought the who’s who of MMA. Israel Adesanya, Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker, Michael Bisping, Darren Till are just some of the many high-level strikers and power punchers Gastelum has faced. Yet, Pyfer (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) thinks he brings something different to the table.

“I’m going to send a statement to him,” Pyfer said. “I don’t really care about what the rest of the division thinks. Obviously, yes, if I get a stoppage, it’s going to be impressive, but I have 13 wins and 12 finishes. I’m a guy that likes to go out there and look for the finish, and I have the power to get the finish. If you watch him against Israel Adesanya, I think that was his best self and I think that was the best he’s ever going to be, and he got dropped like three or four times by a guy who’s not really a power puncher.”

Gastelum is a pioneer in Mexican MMA. Although born in the U.S. but with Mexican parents, Gastelum has represented the Mexican audience for many years. He fought in the UFC’s first ever event in Mexico in 2018 and coached a season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.”

Pyfer knows he won’t be the crowd favorite, but is in no way letting that affect him.

“No, I don’t give a f*ck,” Pyfer said. “I’m here in enemy territory. … I’m super comfortable, and I’m not uncomfortable fighting here in Mexico. At the end of the day, I’ll be making the same walk to the cage, and in the cage it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what ethnicity you are. A fight is a fight.”

 
Pyfer is a complete bum. If Kelvin loses to him in any way he should definitely retire.
 
It's possible. Kelvin has taken a fair amount of damage over the course of his career and despite being younger than most think, he's not that young in fight years. We've seen him wobbled and dropped quite badly despite never being KO'd. I don't think Pyfer is anything special in the grand scheme of things, but he has a significant reach advantage on Gastelum and is an insanely explosive guy with loads of power in his hands. If anyone has the ability to crack Kelvin's chin, it's him. I also think it's possible that we see him do what he did to Alhassan or replicate the gameplan Brady (his training partner) used against Gastelum: shoot takedowns on him and hunt the submission. Joe is the much bigger, more physical athlete in this match-up with good TD entries and a solid top game to boot, whereas Kelvin's defensive grappling has historically been... shaky, to say the least.

That being said, I actually like Gastelum as an underdog. I have way more faith in his cardio and I think his striking is better and more varied on a technical basis. Both times Pyfer fought someone who didn't fall over the moment he blitzed forward and threw an overhand -- someone with an understanding of how to use footwork and fight him on the outside with kicks -- he ended up looking a bit lost on the feet. Alhassan and Hermansson both showed that. If Kelvin's chin & TDD hold up, I think he can drag Pyfer into deep waters at altitude and melt him.
 
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It's possible. Kelvin has taken a fair amount of damage over the course of his career and despite being younger than most think, he's not that young in fight years. We've seen him wobbled and dropped quite badly despite never being KO'd. I don't think Pyfer is anything special in the grand scheme of things, but he has a significant reach advantage on Gastelum and is an insanely explosive guy with loads of power in his hands. If anyone has the ability to crack Kelvin's chin, it's him. I also think it's possible that we see him do what he did to Alhassan or replicate Brady's gameplan against Gastelum: shoot takedowns on him and hunt the submission. He's a much bigger, more physical athlete with good TD entries and a solid top game.

That being said, I actually like Gastelum as an underdog. I have way more faith in his cardio and I think his striking is better and more varied on a technical basis. Both times Pyfer fought someone who didn't fall over the moment he blitzed forward and threw an overhand -- someone with an understanding of how to use footwork and fight him on the outside with kicks -- he ended up looking a bit lost on the feet. Alhassan and Hermansson both showed that. If Kelvin's chin & TDD hold up, I think he can drag Pyfer into deep waters at altitude and melt him.

This is a solid breakdown, appreciate it.
 
pyfer's an asshole so I hope kelvin wins but he probably is gonna get beat up considering how bad he looked against d rod
 
Not likely. But I am still going with it!
Watching fights not letting yourself have a feeling about them is just fucking lame.
So I say Kelvin!
 
Hope kelvin can hang, but pyfer has some nasty power.
 
Pyfer by KO, not TKO but an actual one punch out cold KO. No follow up shots. I'm certain this will happen.
 
Kg by decision.his job is possibly on the line and he's going to have the performance of a lifetime.probably followed by a series of uninspiring showings.he has to be careful early but I think he breaks out the wrestling shoes for this one and grinds his way to a much needed victory.
 
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