Results:
- Joe Pyfer def. Israel Adesanya by TKO at 4:18 of Round 2
- Alexa Grasso def. Maycee Barber by KO at 2:42 of Round 1
- Michael Chiesa def. Niko Price by rear-naked choke at 1:03 of Round 1
- Lerryan Douglas def. Julian Erosa by KO at 3:33 of Round 1
- Yousri Belgaroui def. Mansur Abdul-Malik by TKO at 3:39 of Round 3
- Terrance McKinney def. Kyle Nelson by TKO at 0:24 of Round 1
- Tofiq Musayev def. Ignacio Bahamondes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-27)
- Lance Gibson Jr. def. Chase Hooper by TKO at 2:56 of Round 1
- Tyrell Fortune def. Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Casey O’Neill def. Gabriella Fernandes by KO at 3:11 of Round 1
- Navajo Stirling def. Bruno Lopes by TKO at 4:05 of Round 2
- Ricky Simón vs. Adrian Yañez ended in a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
- Alexia Thainara def. Bruna Brasil by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
Performance of the Night:
- Joe Pyfer
- Alexa Grasso
Fight of the Night:
- Tofiq Musayev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Attendance & Gate:
- 17,854 and $4.2 million at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
Joe Pyfer stops Israel Adesanya
Joe Pyfer scored the biggest win of his career against former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle.
The 29-year-old put forth a game plan of power shots mixed with grappling, which led to a stoppage in the second round of the middleweight fight.
Pyfer landed several big shots in the opening round, and Adesanya started introducing leg kicks. Pyfer scored a takedown near the end of the first round and took the first.
In the second, Adesanya was getting more comfortable and mixing his attack while utilizing leg kicks. When the distance was closed, Pyfer fired heavy shots, backed Adesanya near the fence, and forced him to cover up momentarily. The trajectory changed as Pyfer took Adesanya down and transitioned to mount, then to the back. He returned to the mount position and unloaded more than twenty strikes before Herb Dean called the fight.
Pyfer gave an emotional speech after, stating he nearly took his life several weeks ago but found God and was saved.
Adesanya stated outright that he wasn’t going anywhere and sounded as far away from retiring as possible. Since losing the middleweight title to Sean Strickland in September 2023, he has lost three more fights and has not won since UFC 287 nearly three years ago.
The win will propel Pyfer, who was ranked #14 and stopped the former champion, who was #4 coming into the fight. Pyfer has won four in a row and is 7-1 in the UFC.
Alexa Grasso dominates Maycee Barber
In the co-feature, former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso put together one of the most impressive finishing sequences of the year by dispatching Maycee Barber in the first round.
This was a rematch from UFC 258 in February 2021, which Grasso won by decision and was the last time Barber lost.
Grasso threw a combination with the left hook, rocking Barber and effectively ending the fight. The punch turned Barber’s back, and Grasso instantly locked on a choke, which was unnecessary because Barber was already done, and the fight was ruled a TKO.
Barber lay on the mat for a while, and this was an ultra-impressive win for the former champ.
Grasso snapped a three-fight winless streak after two fights with current champion Valentina Shevchenko and a decision loss to Natalia Silva last May. It ends Barber’s seven-fight winning streak, going back to July 2021.
Michael Chiesa gets a storybook ending
Washington’s own Michael Chiesa had his retirement fight on Saturday in his home state and couldn’t have ended his career with a more satisfying performance.
Chiesa immediately grappled with Niko Price for body control near the fence and escaped Price’s control. Chiesa lifted and placed his opponent onto the mat, and after a roll, Chiesa maintained the back and secured a deep choke, forcing Price to tap in sixty-three seconds.
Chiesa gave a wonderful speech thanking his mother, wife, and late father, adding that it was his parents’ anniversary today. Chiesa was competing on the live season of The Ultimate Fighter 2012 when he got word that his father had passed away, and he stayed on the series and won the contract.
The UFC played a video tribute for Chiesa after the fight, with his mother and wife in attendance.
Demetrious Johnson enters the Hall
The top flyweight in history will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the Modern Wing this summer.
Johnson’s inclusion was a no-brainer, and it was announced on Saturday during the broadcast at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Johnson joined the WEC after three pro fights and competed at bantamweight despite flyweight being the more suitable weight, but not a weight class in the promotion. Despite being outsized, he earned a bantamweight title fight after being absorbed by the UFC and fighting former champ Dominick Cruz in October 2011. Cruz won by decision, but it was Johnson’s last loss for seven years.
In 2012, the UFC added a flyweight division, and Johnson was part of a four-man tournament and became the UFC’s first 125-pound champion at UFC 152 in September 2012. He went on an incredible run with wins against Joseph Benavidez twice, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi (submitting him with one second remaining at UFC 186), Henry Cejudo, Wilson Reis, and Ray Borg, among others. He received a lot of undue criticism for not being a big draw and being so far ahead of the weight class.
He finally lost the title to Cejudo in August 2018 by split decision in what turned out to be his final UFC fight, as an agreement was made to send him to ONE Championship, and in turn, Ben Askren joined the UFC.
He went 5-1 in ONE, including a knockout loss to then-flyweight champion Adriano Moraes in April 2021. They fought two more times, with Johnson winning by KO and unanimous decision, with the latter being his final fight in May 2023 before retiring.
