‘Joker’ Will Pie Pyfer, Fight Imavov

“I see Joe as a great opponent and a big threat, I think he can do good things in the sport. It’s just not gonna happen on Saturday.” —Jack Hermansson

Jack Hermansson is ready to make another run at the middleweight title.

The first pit stop on that journey will be a 185-pound firefight at UFC Vegas 86 opposite fast-rising middleweight up-and-comer Joe Pyfer, a record-breaking power puncher who is already 3-0 inside the Octagon with three nasty finishes.

Just don’t expect “The Joker” to become Pyfer’s stepping stone.

“You don’t want to be a gatekeeper to the younger guys, but when you lose a fight, that’s what’s happening,” Hermansson told Sportsnet. “I need to get back in there, win my fight and show everybody that I still belong at the top and that I can take on someone above me. I don’t feel like I need to prove I hit harder than him. I think I need to prove that I’m better than him in other areas of the game than the power.”

Hermansson (23-8) is looking to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Roman Dolidze at UFC Orlando. The 35 year-old Swede is currently ranked No. 11 at 185 pounds, three spots below resurgent middleweight Nassourdine Imavov.

“This fight is the most important thing on my mind at the moment, and I don’t have any big plans forward,” Hermansson told reporters at the UFC Vegas 86 media day. “But I would like to stay active, get a few more fights in, and if I beat Joe, I would love to be able to climb up again. I think that after (Nassourdine) Imavov’s fight last weekend, that might be a good opponent if I beat Joe.”

UFC Vegas 86 takes place this Sat. night (Feb. 10) at APEX in Las Vegas.