Joe Pyfer admits he was surprised he got Israel Adesanya matchup: ‘Many guys that deserve this fight’

Joe Pyfer admits he was caught off guard by his upcoming UFC Seattle main event against Israel Adesanya.

UFC CEO Dana White announced on Tuesday that Pyfer would face the former champion in an intriguing middleweight showdown on March 28. Pyfer is ranked 15th while Adesany is ranked sixth, which is why he’s surprised, as he thought there were other fighters who deserved this fight.

“No, to be honest, there were many other guys that deserve this fight, probably over me,” Pyfer said to Ariel Helwani. “I’m number 15, and the teter-tottered with me being in the rankings, after I beat Abus, even though he was number 14 when I fought him. They teter-tottered with me in and out of the rankings. The Paulo Costa fight was the top-15. I was like it was a good fight, but it doesn’t move the needle. If I beat him, it doesn’t move the needle for me.”

Although Pyfer thought other people could have gotten the Adesanya fight, he is eager for the fight to happen.

Joe Pyfer admits Israel Adesanya wasn’t on his radar

After Pyfer’s last win, he thought he would get a top-10 opponent, but didn’t expect it to be Adesanya. But, after looking at it, he felt like the fight did make a ton of sense for all parties involved.

“Izzy, was not on the radar, and when they said it, I was just grateful,” Pyfer said. “It could have been anybody, but it’s me. It’s little Joey P. The way my story is, it can’t be written any better, all the adversity I’ve had, the journey I’ve been on, the ups, the downs, the sickness, the injuries. I finally get my chance and it’s fair game.”

Joe Pyfer is coming off a submission win over Abus Magomedov back in October. It was his third-straight win as he beat Kelvin Gastelum by decision and Marc-Andre Barriault by KO. His lone loss in the UFC was by decision to Jack Hermansson.