Tomorrow night in the featured prelim of UFC 303, we are going to see a very fun middleweight matchup. Two contenders who are trying to break through into the rankings will go toe-to-toe as Joe Pyfer (12-3) takes on Marc-Andre Barriault (16-7).
Joe Pyfer made his way to The Contender Series back in 2020, but lost due to an arm injury. After a knockout win on the regional scene, he got another shot on The Contender Series where he won by knockout earning a UFC contract. He won his first three fights inside the octagon by stoppage and that led to him getting a main event against Jack Hermansson.
After landing some big shots early on, it became very clear that Pyfer’s entire game plan was getting a knockout. Once he didn’t get that, he gassed out and was losing a striking fight against a grappler-first Jack Hermansson. He says that he’s corrected his mistakes and he’s looking to make a statement tomorrow night.
He better hope his cardio is in check because he’s fighting a man with the nickname “Powerbar” at UFC 303. The last time we saw Barriault was back in January where he lost a decision to Chris Curtis. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak, but Barriault definitely has the tools to get the job done tomorrow night.
UFC 303 Prediction
Joe Pyfer has a lot to answer tomorrow night. If he tries to come out and just purely go for the knockout against Barriault and he can’t find it, he’s going to be in a ton of trouble. Barriault is not going to slow down and he’s going to push forward with much bigger combinations than Jack Hermansson was throwing.
Pyfer has great ground skills, but everyone knows that he loves to fight with his hands first. I fully expect him to strike with Barriault. Barriault has very solid striking and he can definitely find holes in the standup of Pyfer. It might’ve been the exhaustion, but Pyfer’s striking defense was really bad against Hermansson. If that hasn’t been corrected, he could eat a lot of shots.
That said, Pyfer’s power is going to make a big difference in my opinion. I do think Pyfer will find that big shot at UFC 303 and I think he’ll get the finish. However, if he can’t, don’t be shocked to see Barriault finish him either late in the second or in the third round.
Prediction: Joe Pyfer by TKO