Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer will finally face off at UFC 316, taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7. This middleweight match was previously scheduled for UFC Mexico but had to be postponed.
Sources familiar with the situation confirmed the rescheduling to media outlets after Joe Pyfer`s head coach, John Marquez, initially announced the new date.
Their first match was canceled just hours before the event in March because Pyfer fell ill and was unable to compete. Following the cancellation, Pyfer expressed strong negative feelings towards Mexico, stating he would never fight there again due to his sickness.
Pyfer mentioned on social media that despite taking precautions to avoid illness, he still got sick in Mexico. He dismissed suggestions that altitude sickness was the cause, even though he claimed to have taken measures to acclimatize. He used harsh language to criticize Mexico and reiterated his refusal to fight there in the future.
However, Pyfer will not need to return to Mexico. Instead, he will compete in New Jersey as part of the UFC`s event on the East Coast in June.
UFC 316 is set to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. The co-main event will feature Julianna Peña challenging Kayla Harrison for the women’s bantamweight title.
