A middleweight showdown pitting Joe Pyfer
against Kelvin
Gastelum has been rebooked for UFC
316.
Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after an announcement on
Monday from Pyfer’s coach on MMA Today on Sirius XM. Pyfer and Gastelum were
initially slated to square off at UFC
Mexico on March 29, but Pyer
withdrew on the day of the event due to illness. UFC 316 takes
place on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and is
headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between Merab
Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley.
Pyfer has been victorious in six of his last seven professional
outings. After earning a
UFC contract on
Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, “Bodybagz” finished his
first three Octagon foes before fallling to Jack
Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 236 main event this past
February. The 28-year-old Pennsylvania native rebounded in his most
recent appearance, when he knocked out Marc-Andre
Barriault in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC
303.
Gastelum will be making his 24th Octagon appearance against Pyfer.
“The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner has been triumphant in two of his
last three in UFC competition — including a three-round verdict
over <Daniel
Rodriguez in his lone outing of 2024. Gastelum’s resume
includes victories over the likes of Ronaldo
Souza, Michael
Bisping, Johny
Hendricks, Nate
Marquardt and Jake
Ellenberger, among others.