Pyfer Yanked From UFC Mexico City With Last-Second Illness
03/29/2025 01:37 PM
An anticipated middleweight matchup has been canceled for later tonight (Sat., Mar. 29, 2025) at UFC Mexico City LIVE on ESPN+ from inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, as rising contender Joe Pyfer was removed from his bout against veteran Kelvin Gastelum due to an illness.
UFC announced the news earlier today. Click HERE for more details.
While Pyfer headlined a UFC event back in early 2024 this matchup against Gastelum was supposed to be his biggest Octagon test to date. That's because Gastelum is one of the most seasoned veterans on the UFC roster, has never been stopped by way of strikes, and appears to be rejuvenated since announcing his return to 185 pounds. Unfortunately for Pyfer, he'll have to wait a little longer to get back inside of the Octagon and get his hands on a proven contender.
Gastelum, 33, was hoping to use Pyfer to springboard back into the top 15 even though he initially didn't like the matchup. The former Ultimate Fighter winner is coming off a decision win over Daniel Rodriguez back in June 2024 and was hoping to get his first UFC win streak in seven years. We'll see how long it takes the promotion to rebook Gastelum, whether or not that comes against Pyfer.
As a result of the last-second cancelation, a "Prelims" flyweight matchup between Edgar Chairez and CJ Vergara has been elevated to the main card.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Mexico fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining UFC Mexico main card balance on ESPN2/ESPN+at 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Mexico news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized "Moreno vs. Erceg" fight card and ESPN2/ESPN+ lineup click here.
