American MMA fighter Joe Pyfer received a double whammy in late 2020 when it seemed like everything was falling apart for the UFC prospect. Pyfer suffered a gruesome arm injury which was supposed to keep him out for a few months but later he also tested positive for illegal substances which saw him getting suspended further.
In August 2020, Pyfer faced Dustin Stoltzfus on Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 2. The match was just getting heated up when Stoltzfus elevated Pyfer and brought him down in Round 4. However, as the fighters landed, Pyfer extended his arm. Pyfer’s right arm was bent in the opposite direction. The brutal injury was followed by the match being ended by the referee.
The loss was Pyfer’s second loss in his MMA career. At that point, after the match, he held a 7-2 record and was on the verge of booking a UFC fight. However, his injury became a huge roadblock. Along with the injury, came his suspension.
Just a few months later, in December 2020, Nolan King, a reporter for MMA Fighting, posted about Pyfer’s suspension. He wrote on X, “Joe Pyfer (who suffered that gruesome arm injury on #DWCS) has been suspended 9 months by the NSAC for prohibited modulator metabolites. He has also been fined a total of $968.04.”
Joe Pyfer (who suffered that gruesome arm injury on #DWCS) has been suspended 9 months by the NSAC for prohibited modulator metabolites. He has also been fined a total of $968.04.
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) December 2, 2020
Modulator metabolites are substances that affect your hormones. Pyfer had to sit out nine months because of the positive test.
Joe Pyfer suffered from mental health issues after breaking his arm and getting suspended
Pyfer made an extraordinary comeback after he was out for over a year. His comeback fight was against Austin Trotman in December 2021 at CFFC 104: Bilder vs. Buenafuente. He won that fight via a KO in the second round.
Pyfer got his chance again at the DWCS Season 6 Week 1 as he faced Ozzy Diaz in July 2022. He made no mistakes and won that fight via a second-round KO. Pyfer became the only fighter to earn a UFC contract that week. He was even praised by Dana White himself.
The American took his opportunity with open arms and defeated Alen Amedovski on his UFC debut in September 2022. After his fight, he explained the mental health issues he was going through due to his injury and time away from fighting.
“I got built from breaking my arm, honestly,” Pyfer said in an interview with Ariel Helwani. “I hit the slumps, man, I hit a depression, like temporary suicide s***, you know, feeling sorry for myself.
He said that he allowed his own thoughts to label him a failure. Pyfer explained, “I allowed what I thought was a failure to really break me as a person and like, ‘Maybe people are right, I’m not meant to do this.’ I don’t know. I used to ask myself these questions all the time, like, ‘Why me? Why me? Why me?’ The self-pity, that’s really what it is, and it was.”
The American fighter also opened up about his abusive past during the interview. He claimed that his father abused him physically and verbally. This led to him fleeing his home at a young age. However, Pyfer has overcome several adversities and is set to achieve great things in MMA.