After their previously scheduled fight in Mexico City was scrapped due to illness, Joe Pyfer and Kelvin Gastelum stepped inside the Octagon to do battle at UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey.
Before being forced to bow out of his bout with Gastelum in March, Pyfer scored a vicious 85-second knockout over Marc-André Barriault at UFC 303, improving his record under the UFC banner to 4-1. Now, he’ll face the toughest test of his career thus far when he meets the one-time interim middleweight title challengers.
Round 1
Gastelum opens up the fight with a quick calf kick. Pyfer responds with a kick to the body. 40 seconds into the opening round, Pyfer unleashes a massive right hand that drops Gastelum. Pyfer drops some ground strikes, but Gastelum gets back to his feet and tries to respond with a looping right hand that misses the mark. Gastelum offers up a couple of left hands, but neither connects. Pyfer loads up with another right and puts a left behind it.
Things slow down a bit as Pyfer looks to land another booming right hand. Gastelum lands a right to the body. Gastelum throws a right hand, but Pyfer stays just out of range. Gastelum is hesitant to close the distance after getting rocked early. Pyfer lands a head kick that wobbles Gastelum. Pyfer follows it up with a stiff jab, followed by another vicious right hand that drops Gastelum for the second time.
Pyfer lets him back up with 20 seconds to go in the round. Despite having Gastelum hurt, Pyfer remains patient and allows Gastelum to get back to his corner.
Round 2
Pyfer comes out looking to pick up right where he left off, throwing a right hook with ill intent. Gastelum hasn’t offered much through the first 90 seconds of the stanza as Pyfer lands a one-two. Pyfer throws a couple of shots in close, pushing Gastelum to the cage wall. Gastelum circles away and gets back into the center of the Octagon, offering up a stiff calf kick.
The crowd is starting to get restless as both fighters are hesitant to pull the trigger. Gastelum throws a combination. Pyfer tries to counter, but he’s just out of range. Gastelum is fairing much better in the second, but Pyfer has undoubtedly landed the more impactful strikes in an otherwise uneventful round. Pyfer thows a combination upon hearing the 10-second clacker, but he fails to land anything substantial before the round comes to a close.
Round 3
Gastelum looks a little lighter on his feet in the third and shoots for a single-leg takedown early, but Pyfer fends it off with ease. Pyfer throws another single right hand, but he comes up short. At this point, Pyfer is only throwing single shots while Gastelum throws a combination punctuated by a left hand that stings Pyfer. Gastelum clinches up momentarily, but lets go almost immediately. Pyfer decides to shoot for his own takedown and gets Gastelum down.
Gastelum reverses position, going for a single-leg before getting back to his feet and pressing Pyfer’s back to the fence. Pyfer pushes Gastelum off him and attempts to land a right on the break, but misses. Gastelum lands a left to the hand, followed by one to the body. Gastelum continues to close the gap as Pyfer is unwilling to throw more than one shot at a time. Gastelum pressures Pyfer to the fence and throws a couple of stiff shots with only 15 seconds to go. Pyfer offers nothing in response, bringing an end to a mostly lackluster showing from the DWCS alum.
Official Result: Joe Pyfer def. Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)
Check Out Highlights From Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer at UFC 316:
Joe Pyfer looking dominant early against Kelvin Gastelum at #UFC316 🥊pic.twitter.com/1or0vAycM9
— Gamblr (@Gamblr_io) June 8, 2025
29-28, 29-27, 30-27 #UFC316
Joe Pyfer beats Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision! pic.twitter.com/DrKi1ZGZc2
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 8, 2025
