A 5 year old kid on the mats in Kensington…just grew up and TKO’d the UFC legend Israel Adesanya.
There’s a moment in this Eddie Alvarez interview with Ariel Helwani that’s stuck with me since Joe Pyfer’s UFC journey began.
Walking through Kensington, Philly ahead of UFC 205.
Ariel asks Eddie about starting MMA in a basement with a small group, and mentions a Joe Pyfer in the room, likely Pyfer Sr.
As Pyfer has shared publicly, he does not have a good relationship with his father today, but has mentioned that his father had him in the gym at age 4.
So just picture the scene of an 18 year old Alvarez grinding on the mats trying to make his way into the sport…
And a 5 year old Pyfer was likely right there on the mats, taking it all in.
Full circle. Years in the making.
@arielhelwani / @Ealvarezfight
Dios santo!!! Aviso que son imágenes muy fuertes para los sensibles, Dylan Reischman se ha fracturado la pierna de una forma horrorosa, de las peores lesiones que he visto nunca #CombateGlobal
I know it's part of the narrative, but combining kickboxing and MMA records is dumb. And that's from someone who actually watched the fights in the moment. Different sports. Different stakes. They're 1-1 in MMA, end of story.
@MMAJunkie There's not really a need for judges to be cageside imo. Having them in a room backstage watching the broadcast with no commentary and noise canceling headsets seems like a better setup.