It was tough sledding for Jack Hermansson early, but the savvy veteran was able to shift momentum to hand Joe Pyfer his first loss in the UFC.
The middleweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 236 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Pyfer (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) offered an early storm of strikes, but as the fight wore on, Hermansson (24-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) adjusted to earn identical scores of 48-47 from the official judges.
Pyfer put Hermansson on notice early with a hard left hooks. With his confidence high, Pyfer steadily moved forward as Hermansson began to fire back with punches and leg kicks. With just over 90 seconds to go, Pyfer landed a hard overhand right that wobbled Hermansson. Pyfer didn’t rush any follow-up shots, and opted to continue to patiently play his game.
In the second round, Pyfer stuffed the first takedown offering from Hermansson. Pyfer continued to win striking exchanges for the majority of the round, but Hermansson showed some signs of adjusting defensively.
Hermansson continued to build upon his defensive reads in the third, as he landed nice counterpunches and stuffed Pyfer’s takedown attempts. Hard leg kicks found their target as well, and a clean punch to the eye caused Pyfer to think he was poked illegally.
Bloodied and bruised, Pyfer’s momentum shifted to Hermansson.
Pyfer looked to bring the fight to the ground early in Round 4, but didn’t have success. He continued his forward-marching approach behind a left jab, but Hermansson’s takedown defense and counter game continued to shine.
With the fight seemingly tied going into the final round, Hermansson left a lasting impression by completing the first takedown of the fight in the center of the cage. Pyfer couldn’t escape from the bottom as Hermansson racked up a lot of control time while landing ground strikes.
The judges’ scores were read in Hermansson’s favor, marking a return to the winner’s circle.
During his post-fight interview, Hermansson called for the legalization of MMA in his home country of Norway. As for his next opponent, he had a name ready, and called for a matchup against Nassourdine Imavov.
Full UFC Fight Night 236 results include:
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Jack Hermansson def. Joe Pyfer via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
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Dan Ige def. Andre Fili via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:43
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Ihor Potieria def. Robert Bryczek via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Gregory Rodrigues def. Brad Tavares via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:55
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Michael Johnson def. Darrius Flowers via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Rodolfo Vieira def. Armen Petrosyan via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:48
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Carlos Prates def. Trevin Giles via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:03
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Bolaji Oki def. Tim Cuamba via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Loma Lookboonmee def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Marcin Prachnio def. Devin Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Max Griffin def. Jeremiah Wells via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Bogdan Guskov def. Zac Pauga via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:38
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Hyder Amil def. Fernie Garcia via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:12
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Daniel Marcos vs. Aori Qileng declared no contest (accidental groin strike) – Round 2, 3:28
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.
