Hermansson Teaches Pyfer About Cost of Entry in Top 15

Joe Pyfer has the makings of a major middleweight prospect. He has a good story and tremendous power. But when climbing the rankings in the UFC, everyone has to be at their best at all times.

UFC CEO Dana White has made it clear over the years that the UFC doesn’t plan to build prospects by feeding them easy opponents on the way to the top. Pyfer had his first opportunity to show he was top 15 material last Saturday at UFC Apex. But Hermansson, 35, showed that if you want to climb up the ladder in the UFC, you need to have the ability to go past the first few rounds.

Hermansson absorbed a lot of punishment from Pyfer in the first round. But in each subsequent round, it became clear that Hermansson was slowly building momentum. Hermansson never let Pyfer work on the ground at all, stopping six takedown attempts.

Meanwhile, Hermansson maintained his ability to strike at a high volume. His best moment was in the fifth round when he took Pyfer down and controlled him for the last several minutes of the fight. Hermansson won a 48-47 decision on all three judges’ scorecards.

Pyfer will have to go back to the drawing board to improve and try to earn a spot in the rankings, according to MMA news sites.

Ige Uses Dad Power to Clean Up Fili

Dan Ige said Andre Fili didn’t understand what his power really felt like. Fili had sparred with Ige in the past and thought he could keep up. But when the two men were locked in the octagon together, Fili found out what it was like to fight a motivated Ige.

Ige, whose wife Savannah is 37 weeks pregnant, knocked out Fili with a stiff punch midway through the first round. Ige was able to send Fili to the canvas when he reached out with a jab that Ige could come over the top of. Although the fight was likely over anyway, Ige followed up with another vicious punch while Fili was on the ground.

MMA latest updates show Ige uses the “50K” nickname moniker to celebrate his knack for getting bonuses. His quick knockout of Fili gave him the fourth Performance of the Night bonus for his career and a fun story to share with his soon-to-be-born child.

Bryczek Falls Short in Debut

Robert Bryczek and Ihor Potieria were two fighters who were expected to produce fireworks. While there was plenty of striking and even some moments where Bryczek was wobbled, neither fighter could end the fight early. Potieria picked up a unanimous decision.

Oddsmakers were certainly surprised to see the fight go to a decision. The over/under for the fight was 1.5 rounds, with the under being juiced at -305 under the number. That means anyone who bet the under and wanted to make a $100 profit needed to wager $305. Hopefully, anyone thinking about that decided to take a different direction.

Robocop Has Too Much Power

Gregory Rodrigues has an excellent grappling background. But no one in the middleweight division wants to feel the power he has in his hands, either. Rodrigues and Brad Tavares had just fought a close second round, which one judge scored for Tavares. But Rodrigues, who was ahead on the other two scorecards, decided he didn’t want to leave it to the judges.

Rodrigues pressed forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes that had Tavares on the backfoot. While Tavares attempted to put up his guard to slow Rodrigues, it was ineffective at stopping the power shots. Rodrigues scored a standing knockout 55 seconds into the third round to pick up his fourth win in his last five fights.

Johnson Survives Late Mistake

Michael Johnson has made a career of losing fights in bizarre ways against top competition. Fighting a less accomplished fighter in Darrius Flowers provided an opportunity for Johnson to serve as a gatekeeper. Johnson didn’t waste his chance.

Johnson mixed up his grappling and striking well and grabbed a decision win to improve to 22-19 in his career. However, in the final few minutes, Johnson nearly got caught in an armbar by Flowers. He was able to do enough to stay out of danger in the final few minutes and grab the win.

Vieira Performs Magic on Top

Armen Petrosyan couldn’t let Rodolfo Vieira get him to the ground. But when Petrosyan was unsuccessful, the next step was to ensure he didn’t make any mistakes. The fight was over when Petrosyan twisted onto his back to try and escape.

Vieira won by submission. He set a UFC record for the most arm-triangle chokes in the promotion’s history with four. Vieira is now 10-2 in his MMA career, with nine victories coming by submission.

Prates Find Success on Main Roster

Carlos Prates only needs one opening to put an opponent on his back. Making his UFC welterweight debut after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Prates found his opening against Trevor Giles in the second round. Prates stung Giles with a solid punch, then sent Giles to the canvas for a one-punch knockout.

Prates has now won seven straight fights by KO or TKO and is 18-6 in his career, according to MMA breaking news. 

Here’s a look at the other fights tonight not mentioned above:

• Lightweight: Bolaji Oki win by split decision over Timothy Cuamba, 29-28 (x2) Oki, 29-28 Cuamba
• Women’s strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee win by decision over Bruna Brasil, 29-28 (x3)
• Light heavyweight: Marcin Prachnio win by decision over Devin Clark, 30-27 (x3)
• Welterweight, Max Griffin win by split decision over Jeremiah Wells, 29-28 (x2) Griffin, 29-28 Wells
• Light Heavyweight: Bogdan Guskov win by knockout (punches), Zac Pauga, Round 1 1:38
• Featherweight: Hyder Amil win by technical knockout (punches) over Fernie Garcia, Round 2 2:12
• Bantamweight: Daniel Marcos no contest (accidental groin kick) Aori Qileng

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.