Joe Pyfer gets first UFC main event, meets Jack Hermansson in February

Joe Pyfer will attempt to continue to climb the middleweight ladder in his first UFC main event early next year, and it will come against arguably his most accomplished opponent yet.

Pyfer (12-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will take on Jack Hermansson (23-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night main event set for Feb. 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup Thursday. The event is expected to stream on ESPN+.

Pyfer came to the UFC in 2022 through Dana White’s Contender Series. In his official UFC debut, he knocked out Alen Amedovski in the second round for a $50,000 performance bonus. He followed that up with a first-round TKO of Gerald Meerschaert, who had in excess of 50 pro fights on his resume. And in October, he submitted Abdul Razak Alhassan in the second round for his second post-fight bonus.

Hermansson will attempt to climb back into the win column in what will be his first bout in about 14 months. The 35-year-old Swede, a former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, hasn’t had a winning streak since 2019 and has alternated losses and wins his past eight bouts.

Included in Hermansson’s recent mix is a split decision setback to Sean Strickland in February 2022. Strickland went on to upset Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title. Hermansson rebounded with a win over Chris Curtis, but was knocked out in the second round by Roman Dolidze in December 2022.