Polarizing middleweight contender, Joe Pyfer has admitted he was less than pleased with the commentary on display from veteran caller, Joe Rogan during his UFC 316 win — claiming the New Jersey native was a little “hard” in his assessment of the performance.
Pyfer, who returned over the weekend in Newark, managed to rally though a late uptake from former interim title challenegr, Kelvin Gastelum to land a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27) win over The Ultimate Fighter winner, landing his second straight win on the bounce.
Sidelined since June of last year, Contender Series product, Pyfer had most recently finished Canadian fan-favorite, Marc Andre-Barriault with a devastating first round knockout — earning him a post-fight Performance of the Night bonus.
But dropping Gastelum on cue in the first and second rounds, Pyfer was criticized by some within the community for failing to close the show on the former, despite taking a sizeable lead into the third round of their clash.
And none so more than color-commentator, Rogan — who was less than forthcoming in praise for the display in his post-fight interview with Pyfer himself.
Joe Pyfer takes issues with Joe Rogan after UFC 316 commentary
Taking umbrage with the conduct of the comedian and podcast host, Pyfer claimed Rogan was too “hard” on him in his post-fight assessment.
“They were a little hard on me. Joe Rogan was a little hard on me, I just think the expectation is set so high for me, that if I don’t get a devastating finish, then everybody kind of starts being like ‘Oh well if he wants to fight the higher competition…’” Pyfer told Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned this evening.
“And it’s like bro, Abus Magomedov just fought Michel Pereira when he was 2-2 in the UFC and now he’s ranked number 11…you can go from being unranked, to number 11 in one fight,” Joe Pyfer continued. “I’ll get the better competition, relax. I think they were a little bit unfair, as far as the reality of the fight. It was not a close fight. I was never in danger.”
