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Fans voice their disappointment following the announcement of Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer being canceled. Later today, March 29, the UFC will return to Mexico for a fight night event inside the Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
With only a few hours before the event, the UFC announced that a middleweight bout between Gastelum and Pyfer has been scratched. The reasoning is that Pyfer was unable to fight due to an illness.
The UFC released the following message on Instagram:
"Due to illness, Joe Pyfer has been removed from his middleweight bout with Kelvin Gastelum. As a result, this bout has been cancelled from today’s event."
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The disappointing news quickly spread on social media, leading to the following fan reactions on Twitter:
One fan, stated:
"Gastelum made weight for nothing"
Another added:
"The one time Gastelum didn’t doink the weight in so long…oh the irony"
Another fan rued about the increase in number of fights getting canceled of late:
"Bro the dropping out of fights is getting insane it’s like every card we’re losing fights the day before or the day of the fight I know it’s not their fault’s usually by like wtf"
Another fan chimed in:
"Joe Pyfer becomes even more unlikable Didn't think it's possible."
Gastelum and Pyfer remain unranked in the UFC middleweight division. Nonetheless, the canceled matchup was considered one of the most intriguing bouts scheduled for the promotion's event in Mexico.
Gastelum has won consecutive bouts at middleweight, with a welterweight loss against Sean Brady separating his latest 185-pound wins against Chris Curtis and Daniel Rodriguez.
The March 29 event in Mexico moves forward with twelve fights, including Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg (main event), Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober (co-main event), and Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Vince Morales.
Joe Pyfer's five-fight run in the UFC
Joe Pyfer made his UFC debut in September 2022 after earning a contract on 'Dana White's Contender Series.'
The American middleweight quickly made a name for himself with consecutive finishes against Alen Amedovski (first-round knockout), Gerald Meerschaert (first-round knockout), and Abdul Razak Alhassan (second-round submission).
In February 2024, Pyfer endured a significant setback due to a unanimous decision loss against Jack Hermansson in a fight night main event.
The 28-year-old bounced back in June 2024 with a first-round knockout win against Marc-Andre Barriault, leading to his third performance bonus in the promotion.
Watch Pyfer's latest finish against Barriault below:
