Pyfer Survives Calf Kicks, Sleeps Alhassan

Joe Pyfer and Abdul Razak Alhassan squared off in a Middleweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Oct. 7, 2023) at UFC Vegas 80 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a fun fight, Pyfer put his opponent to sleep.

Pyfer exploded out of the gate with a double leg takedown, but Alhassan popped back to his feet just as quickly, resisting an arm triangle choke in the process. Back at distance, the two started trading power kicks, and Alhassan scored with the first big punch of the evening. Another brief takedown from Pyfer saw Alhassan return to his feet quickly, then the two went back to ripping kicks.

With two minutes remaining in the round, Pyfer started advancing behind his hands more, landing a couple elbows near the fence. He put together some nice combinations from that positioning, and the momentum started to move into his corner. Alhassan started swinging a bit more wildly, covering up in between his haymakers.

He wasn’t out of the fight, but Pyfer took the opening frame.

Alhassan denied an early takedown and landed a pair of punishing calf kicks to start the second round. Pyfer started walking gingerly, looking uncomfortable with his lead leg. Just as Alhassan started building momentum, Pyfer landed a huge slam directly into the arm triangle.

This time, there was no escape! Alhassan tried to tap, but the referee didn’t notice in time, so he went to sleep instead. Pyfer showed off a well-rounded skill set and a bit of grit, looking very much like a future Top 15 Middleweight.

Result: Joe Pyfer defeats Abdul Razak Alhassan via second-round arm triangle choke

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