Better late than never …
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer finally settled their score at UFC 316 tonight (Sat., June 7, 2025) inside Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., after a dramatic buildup. Originally slated to clash at UFC Mexico City in March, Pyfer’s last-minute withdrawal (literally) because of a severe case of Montezuma’s Revenge left fans hanging, sparking controversy with his heated comments about Mexico.
Gastelum — the seasoned former title challenger — entered the Octagon with two wins in his last three fights, looking to build momentum after a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Rodriguez in June 2024. Meanwhile, Pyfer — coming off a blistering 85-second knockout of Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 (re-watch that here) — aimed to prove his devastating power could crack Gastelum’s legendary durability.
With bad blood simmering and both fighters hungry for a statement win, the pair of Middleweight contenders were instead content to spar for 15 minutes, with “BodyBagz” taking a one-note decision win.
Gastelum pushed the pace early, probing Pyfer and looking for an opening. Pyfer stood in front of him, right hand cocked, and dropped Gastelum in the first minute with a ridiculous right hand down the middle. Gastelum got back to his feet, but the shot probably could have knocked out a mule. Moments later, he drilled Gastelum with a brutal body shot — zero respect for Gastelum’s game early. Gastelum, undeterred, continued to be more active, while Pyfer was still loading that right hand waiting for another chance at a kill shot. Gastelum with a nice left to the body, then an overhand right moments later, but Pyfer didn’t appear to want to get too close — comfortable sitting on the outside waiting to throw another dagger. Pyfer finally used something else other than his fist with a minute on the clock, uncorking a clean head kick that wobbled Gastelum. Pyfer dropped him again with a follow up shot. Tough round for Gastelum, who seemingly was able to survive the power, but it was unsustainable if he couldn’t figure out how to get the fight horizontal.
Wrestling would have been a great idea for Gastelum after those first super dangerous five minutes — even his legendary chin wouldn’t hold up to repeated Pyfer tests. Gastelum landed a nice shot early, but Pyfer continued to drill him with hard shots down the middle. The pair boxed, again, for most of the second stanza, with Gastelum doing much better (he didn’t get knocked down!) bit the lack of takedown attempts was bizarre, considering Pyfer is such a one-trick pony.
With round two being somewhat uneventful, it appeared to come down to the third and final frame. Gastelum showed some urgency early, amd actually had a single-leg takedown, but released it almost immediately. Pyfer with a big overhand right, which caught Gastelum at the end, but nothing significant. It looked cool, though. Nice one-two combination from Gastelum midway through the round, with Pyfer shooting and dumping Gastelum to the canvas — weird. Gastelum popped back up to his feet and mushed Pyfer up against the cage. Gastelum landed some stray left hands down the stretch, then a big shot along the fence with 10 seconds on the clock.
This was a weird fight — Pyfer was content to spam basically one punch, while Gastelum refused to wrestle. Regardless of their respective IQs, it was a decent scrap … but way closer than the bookies predicted.
Final result: Pyfer def. Gastelum via decision
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 316: “Merab vs. O’Malley 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
