UFC Mexico Loses Huge Main Card Fight, Here's How It Affects The Event
Joe Pyfer's fight with Kelvin Gastelum is officially off the UFC Mexico card.
The middleweight matchup was slated for the main card at Arena CDMX in Mexico City but was canceled due to an illness affecting Pyfer. He confirmed the information on his Instagram story.
UFC officials confirmed the news and with no fighter on stabndby, there was no room to replace Pyfer.
Pyfer had entered fight week with some momentum, having scored a KO win over Marc-André Barriault in June 2024. He was hoping to start a win streak, but the illness kept him out of action.
The two men could be set to reschedule their fight for an upcoming card. If there is a spot available on a card over the next 60 days, I'd expect to see Pyfer-Gastelum added to that event.
It's the kind of fight that has some juice for just about any card—even a pay-per-view.
Gastelum has recently committed to staying at middleweight, which was a major lift off his back, and he has struggled to make welterweight in his career. Like Pyfer, he won his last fight, a unanimous decision win over Daniel Rodriguez in June 2024.
The fight postponement could potentially be a major disruption for Gastelum as he attempts to embark on what figures to be his final opportunity to make a run at a UFC championship.
Because Pyfer-Gastelum was set to be a main card fight, the UFC was forced to make an adjustment. In response, the promotion has elevated the fight between José Daniel Medina and Ateba Gautier to the featured prelim. Edgar Chairez vs. C.J. Vergara was elevated to the main card.
The event still features a strong headliner: a flyweight battle between Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg. There are huge stakes involved with the main event, as the loser could find themselves a long ways away from challenging for a title at 125 pounds.
The co-main event between Manuel Torres and Drew Dober has some Fight of the Night potential. Gautier and David Martinez are also two hot prospects making their main roster debuts, so their fights are also intriguing. With those fights still on the card, and with a spirited Mexican crowd in attendance, there should be more than enough action for fans looking to tune in.
Still, the absence of the Gastelum-Pyfer fight will be felt.
Here is the updated UFC Mexico card.
Follow along with the results of the event throughout the evening here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
15 minutes ago
- Forbes
UFC Announces Official UFC 317 Main Card Fight Line-Up
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26:Ilia Topuria of Spain prepares to face Max Holloway in ... More the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) The main card for the next pay-per-view event on the 2025 UFC schedule is set. That fight card, UFC 317, takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 317, which is headlined by two title fights, is the anchor event for the 2025 edition of the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The UFC officially announced the five-fight line-up for UFC 317 during the UFC 316 broadcast. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - For vacant UFC lightweight title Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - For Pantoja's UFC flyweight title Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov - Middleweight Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - Lightweight Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa - Heavyweight ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts after a knockout victory ... More against Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Ilia Topuria (16-0) is a former Cage Warriors champion. He joined the UFC in 2020 with a 9-0 record. It did not take him long to make a name for himself. He was ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division after three UFC bouts at 145 pounds and one contest in the 155-pound division. Three of those scraps ended with Topuria winning via knockout. In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria dispatched Bryce Mitchell via submission in the second round, earned his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus and moved to No. 9 in the rankings. A matchup with No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett followed the Mitchell win. Topuria picked up a decision in a 'Fight of the Night' scrap. Topuria's next fight, saw him face Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered that bout as the No. 3 ranked featherweight. He left as the champion after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza. In his first defense of the UFC featherweight crown, Topuria made history, becoming the first fighter to finish former 145-pound champion Max Holloway via strikes, knocking out the ex-champion in the third round of their UFC 308 meeting in October 2024. When Topuria decided to move to lightweight and give up his featherweight title, he vowed to sit until he got a 155-pound title shot. That fight takes place at UFC 317. Topuria has a 16-0 record with eight of those wins coming under the UFC banner. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Charles Oliveira of Brazil prepares to face Michael Chandler ... More during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) Charles Oliveira (35-10-0-1) has been fighting with the UFC since 2010. He won the vacant lightweight title with his win over Chandler and defended the title once, beating Dustin Poirier. He was booked to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense, but Oliveira missed weight for that fight, which he won by submission, losing the title on the scale. Oliveira had a chance to regain the belt in October 2022, but Islam Makhachev submitted him and claimed the vacant belt. Since that loss, Oliveira is 1-1, beating Beneil Dariush by TKO in June 2023 and losing to Arman Tsarukyan via split decision in April of this year. Oliveira is coming off a November 2024 decision win over Michael Chandler. Oliveira is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: UFC CEO Dana White places a title belt on Alexandre Pantoja of ... More Brazil after Pantoja's win by technical submission in the second round against Kai Asakura of Japanduring UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) is on a seven-fight winning streak heading into UFC 317. The 35-year-old Brazilian made his UFC debut in July 2017 with a split-decision win over Eric Shelton. Pantoja's career had its ups and downs over the next three years, where he went 5-3, but he has not lost since he dropped a decision to Askar Askarov in July 2020. Pantoja won the UFC flyweight title in July 2023 on the heels of two 'Performance of the Night' submission wins. Pantoja secured the 125-pound title with a split decision win over Brandon Moreno. Since that victory, Pantoja has defended his three times, beating Brandon Royval in December 2023 and Steve Erceg in May 2024. Both fights ended in decision victories. Pantoja picked up his 19th career finish in his third title defense, submitting Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in December 2024. PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 18: Kai Kara-France of New Zealand reacts after his knockout victory ... More against Steve Erceg of Australia in a flyweight fight during the UFC 305 event at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Kai Kara-France (25-11-0-1) was 17-7-0-1 when he got the call from the UFC in 2019. In his first fight with the promotion, the New Zealander faced a short-notice opponent in Elias Garcia. The two won 'Fight of the Night' honors for their efforts, with Kara-France picking up the decision win. Kara-France followed that victory with two more wins on the judge's scorecards. Then, in December 2019, he faced future champion Brandon Moreno on the early prelims of the UFC 245 pay-per-view card. Moreno won that bout by decision. Kara-France went 1-1 in his next two outings. He then tore off three straight wins between March 2021 and March 2022 and found himself as the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division. In his next outing, he faced Moreno, who was ranked No. 1, in the co-main event of UFC 277. At stake was the interim UFC flyweight title. Moreno won that contest by TKO in the third round. Kara-France followed that setback with a split-decision loss to Amir Albazi in June 2023. Kara-France was booked to face Manel Kape in September 2023, but a concussion during training camp prevented Kara-France from competing on that card, UFC 293. The 32-year-old would not return to action until August 2024, where he earned a first-round TKO win, and a 'Performance of the Night' bonus against Steve Erceg. Kara-France enters UFC 317 as the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings. We will have more on the UFC 317 fight card as fight night approaches.
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Mario Bautista unfazed Patchy Mix's pre-UFC 316 hype, trash talk: 'Words mean nothing'
Mario Bautista unfazed Patchy Mix's pre-UFC 316 hype, trash talk: 'Words mean nothing' Mario Bautista remained confident amid Patchy Mix's hype pre UFC 316. Show Caption Hide Caption UFC 316: Mario Bautista post-fight interview UFC 316 winner Mario Bautista spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Patchy Mix. NEWARK, N.J. – A lot was said in the lead-up to Mario Bautista's clash against former Bellator champion Patchy Mix, and most of it was not favorable for Bautista. Mix (20-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who debuted for the UFC this past Saturday at UFC 316 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., had tons of hype entering the fight against Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), as some thought he was already the best bantamweight on the planet. Being the last Bellator bantamweight champion and having arguably the best resume outside the UFC, there were high expectations for Mix. The betting odds reflected that chatter and hype, as Bautista entered as a sizable underdog despite being the UFC veteran. Mix also had plenty to say, already angling a championship fight and saying he was "looking through" Bautista. There was a lot of noise, but Bautista kept grounded. "He was saying he was looking through me, but the whole time I was thinking, 'Well, I'm going to run through you,'" Bautista said at the uFC 316 post-fight press conference. "So I don't know. I can't pay attention to that stuff. At the end of the day, we get in the cage and the words mean nothing. I trained hard for this fight, and that was pretty much it. I won." Bautista shut down Mix over the course of 15 minutes and ended up taking home a unanimous decision win, while extending his winning streak to eight in a row. The MMA Lab product thinks it's time he gets a step-up given his body of work and wants a five-round fight against a title contender. "I definitely want a top-five (opponent)," Bautista said. "I think if Patchy would've won this fight, they would've shot him all the way to the top, so I think I took his spot and all that hype. I definitely deserve a top-five. I'm on an eight fight win streak, and there is no one else above me with a streak like that except for the champion."
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former UFC fighter Ben Askren hospitalized with severe pneumonia
The Brief Ben Askren is hospitalized with severe pneumonia and is currently unresponsive, according to his wife. Amy Askren asked for prayers and requested privacy, especially regarding their children. Askren is a former MMA champion and now focuses on wrestling coaching and podcasting. Former UFC star Ben Askren is currently hospitalized with severe pneumonia "unable to respond" to treatment, according to his wife. What they're saying "You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something," Amy Askren posted on Facebook. "He developed severe pneumonia which came on very suddenly." "He's currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time," she continued. What you can do Amy said she's asking for prayers for healing and peace. She also asks people to refrain from discussing the matter with their children. The backstory According to FOX Sports, Askren, 40, is from Wisconsin. According to MMA Fighting, at his peak, Askren was seen as one of the best welterweight fighters after winning championships in both Bellator and ONE Championship. He later joined the UFC in a rare deal where ONE traded him for Demetrious Johnson. Askren's UFC career ended with a 1-2 record, including a debut win over Robbie Lawler followed by losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. A few weeks after the Maia fight, he announced his retirement from MMA but later returned for a boxing match against Jake Paul, which ended in a first-round knockout loss—his only boxing appearance. Since then, Askren has mainly focused on coaching wrestling in his home state of Wisconsin while also staying involved in MMA coverage, including co-hosting a podcast with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, according to the outlet. The Source The information in this story comes from a Facebook post by Ben Askren's wife, Amy Askren, who shared an update on his health, stating he is hospitalized with severe pneumonia and currently unresponsive. Additional background details about Askren's career were reported by FOX Sports and MMA Fighting, which highlighted his achievements in Bellator and ONE Championship, his brief UFC tenure, and his post-fighting career in coaching and media. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
