Joe Pyfer releases statement after late UFC Mexico withdrawal

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Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Joe Pyfer has confirmed why he was forced to withdraw from Saturday's UFC Mexico main card matchup with Kelvin Gastelum.

The promotion announced the late scratch just hours before the Fight Night event at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, stating Pyfer had to withdraw due to illness. Shortly after, Pyfer released a statement via his Instagram stories, where he vowed to never again fight outside of the United States.

"Just want to say my heart is broken I couldn't fight today," Pyfer wrote. "I got super sick and hopefully we can reschedule this fight for a few weeks from now. Unfortunately comes with the territory of traveling outside the states. Never again. My apologies guys. We'll be back."

Pyfer is 4-1 inside the octagon, with the lone loss coming to Jack Hermansson in the main event of UFC Vegas 86 in February 2024. The 28-year-old bounced back with an 85-second stoppage of Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 this past June.

Gastelum was also slated to compete for the first time in nine months. He defeated Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Saudi Arabia via decision in his most recent outing.

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