The UFC has announced the main event for its upcoming UFC Seattle card, and it’s a bit of a left field booking.
On Tuesday, UFC CEO and President Dana White took to social media to reveal that former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-5) would face DWCS vet Joe Pyfer (15-3) at the event, in the five-round headliner.
The move likely puts to bed any talk of “The Last Stylebender” retiring, despite having lost three straight bouts. With UFC 325 in Australia so close to home just a month prior, the match-up seems more like a chance for one of the promotion’s biggest stars to right the ship, or conversely, for Pyfer to take the next step onto the big stage.
Adesanya, who had two reigns as middleweight champ in the UFC and also contested for light heavyweight gold, lost his title to Sean Strickland, then suffered defeat at the hands of Dricus Du Plessis in an attempt to reclaim it. Most recently, he was stopped by French contender Nassourdine Imavov last February.
As for Pyfer, he’s won his last three bouts. That includes a decision over an old Adesanya rival, Kelvin Gastelum, and a face crank submission of Abus Magomedov.
Earning a contract on the 2022 season of the Contender Series, Pyfer has proven to be one of the biggest stars from the later seasons of the show. Which might be why, given he’s ranked at just #15 in the division, he’s getting a crack at the #6-ranked former champion.
UFC Seattle is set to take place at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on March 28, 2026. The card as reported to date features the following pairings:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer
- Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber
- Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura
- Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes
- Nicolle Caliari vs. Caroline Foro
- Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Yousri Belgaroui
- Zhu Kangjie vs. Márcio Barbosa
