'Be Joe Pyfer!'… Dana White bought Joe Pyfer a house after homeless fighter's shocking Contender Series knockout
03/25/2025 06:56 PM
UFC middleweight star Joe Pyfer was on the verge of becoming homeless before Dana White’s generosity.
Joe Pyfer overcame a horrific childhood filled with abuse and neglect to make a name for himself in MMA. His story is something you’d hear about in a Marvel superhero comic, but unlike comic books, Pyfer’s trials and triumphs are validated and real.
Pyfer returns to the Octagon this Saturday against former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC Mexico City main event. It’s arguably the biggest fight of Pyfer’s young MMA career after dismantling most of his UFC opposition, including knockouts of Marc-Andre Barriault and Gerald Meerschaert.
Pyfer fought once on Dana White’s Contender Series before eventually securing a UFC contract, after shattering his elbow against Dustin Stoltzfus during the 2020 season of the show. After a long, treacherous road back to the cage physically and mentally, Dana White and the matchmakers gave Pyfer a second chance in 2022.
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From rags to riches: Inside Joe Pyfer’s heartwarming UFC signing
Pyfer faced former LFA middleweight champion and current UFC fighter Ozzy Diaz on DWCS in 2022. He earned the fight with Diaz after a one-punch knockout in his comeback fight at Cage Fury FC 104.
After a lackluster night of fights that infuriated White and the Octagonside matchmakers, Pyfer delivered the highlight of the night against Diaz by knocking him out in brutal fashion in Round 2. An emotional Pyfer screamed at White, “Thank you for the opportunity!” in one of the most memorable moments of the season.
Minutes after Pyfer’s win, White made his infamous ‘Be like Joe Pyfer!’ speech in his post-event interview with Laura Sanko. He pointed to the night’s lack of finishes and aggressive tactics from the fighters before Pyfer’s knockout as a central point of his frustration.
After earning a UFC contract from White, Pyfer’s struggles outside of the cage weren’t immediately alleviated. But things quickly changed.
During a press conference the following week, White revealed he changed Pyfer’s life in more than one way after his DWCS victory.
“I do a lot of things for a lot of people that I don’t necessarily talk about. Joe Pyfer, when I left the press conference that night, he told me that he was about to be homeless,” White explained.
“That ain’t gonna happen!”
Pyfer later revealed that White gave him a year’s worth of rent to help stop his financial struggles. White’s generosity hasn’t gone unanswered by Pyfer, as the rising middleweight is 4-1 in the Octagon and is knocking on the door of a Top 15 spot.
Joe Pyfer exceeded Francis Ngannou’s punching power after inspiring UFC signing
Pyfer possesses vicious punching power for his size. Despite an 85-pound weight difference, Pyfer shattered Francis Ngannou’s punching power record on one of the machines at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
True to his life story, Pyfer rebounded from his first UFC loss to Jack Hermansson by earning a ‘Knockout of the Year’ candidate at UFC 303 last June. He’s knocking on the door of a place in the middleweight rankings and could potentially challenge for a UFC belt one day.
Pyfer’s rise to UFC stardom is an example for many around the world to never give up on their dreams. As he prepares for another high-profile fight at UFC Mexico City, Pyfer is fighting towards a better life after a rocky start.
