After scoring a victory at UFC 287, Joe Pyfer seeks a rematch with Dustin Stoltzfus to avenge a previous loss and settle a personal score.
Joe Pyfer is out for revenge. At UFC 287, Pyfer secured the second win of his young UFC career, knocking out longtime veteran Gerald Meerschaert in the first round. Now, he has his sights set on an old foe. “I called out Dustin Stoltzfus,” Pyfer said on The MMA Hour. “I DMed him. He had some health issues. I know it was a little bit heated this weekend and was really hard on calling him out, and I still am going to call him out. I still want that fight because it’s personal for me, and he’s in the UFC, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to fight somebody that’s in my division?”
Pyfer and Stoltzfus previously fought in 2020 on the promotion’s Contender Series. Pyfer found success early until Stoltzfus went for a takedown, which ended up dislocating Pyfer’s elbow. As a result, Stoltzfus was signed to the UFC, while Pyfer instead had a long recovery process and fought twice more before joining the organization. Now, Pyfer wants to set the record straight. “Look at this [showing his left arm, unable to fully straighten],” Pyfer said. “Look at my arm. That s*** will never go straight again because of that motherf*****. No, he didn’t do it on purpose. This is what I’m saying. I like the guy! I like the guy, if he wasn’t in the UFC.”
With the win over Meerschaert, Pyfer is now 2-0 in the UFC, with two first-round knockouts, and a world of hype behind him. Stoltzfus, in contrast, has struggled in the UFC, losing four of five in the promotion, including a submission loss to Meerschaert in 2021. By almost any measure, the fight would be a step backward for Pyfer, but “Bodybagz” doesn’t care. “F*** the position,” Pyfer said. “I don’t care if I’m No. 1, I don’t care if I’m No. 20, 25, 45, I want that fight back. That’s personal for me. I’m giving him a chance! I’ve DMed him two different times. Respectfully, I’ve DMed him, and he told me, ‘You’re going [up], I wouldn’t even worry about that fight. It is what it is.’ Bro, no. I’m a competitor. Who are you to tell me to just let it go? You’re in the UFC. You’re not my f****** friend. I like you, I think you’re a good guy, but you’re not my f****** friend. Let’s f****** run it back. And if you really beat me, why wouldn’t you want it? That’s my thing.”
Ultimately, Pyfer may not get what he wants. Aside from Stoltzfus’ apparent disinterest, there is also the matter of the UFC. And so, if he can’t get that matchup, Pyfer is prepared to settle for an appropriate next step in his journey up the UFC ladder. “Let me just say, because I don’t think he’ll take the fight — and if he takes the fight, sure, I don’t want this guy to hate me over this, I’m not trying to s*** on the man as a person,” Pyfer said. “I’m just trying to compete against the man in the cage, that’s all. I think we deserve a fair run back. This isn’t one surgery. [Shows arm again.] This is two surgeries. This s*** f***** me up mentally. Of course I want to f****** get that anger back out on his f****** face. If he doesn’t want it — because that’s my next fight, that’s what I want, I want Dustin Stoltzfus. And if he doesn’t want it, I want the winner of Cody Brundage and Rodolfo Vieira. Those are the guys I want to fight. Any of those three.”