Perseverance and some Celine Dion: Joe Pyfer’s recipe for UFC success after a tough upbringing as a ‘throwaway kid’

Joe Pyfer’s journey from South Jersey to the UFC has been anything but easy. The 28-year-old has battled through four surgeries in the last five years, survived childhood abuse from an unsupportive father, found himself homeless at one point, and suffered devastating losses at some of the most crucial moments in his career. Despite every setback, Pyfer persevered.

“I’ve always battled back, no matter what was going on in my life,” Pyfer said. “Whether it was abuse, trying to figure out how I’m going to graduate high school, running away from home, breaking my arm on my first Contender Series fight, or losing my first main event.

“I’ve always been able to show that I’m willing to put myself through the fire to get to that next step. I become obsessive with it and I think that one of my biggest traits is just never giving up on myself. So, I think that’s why I’m in this position now and I get to have this opportunity that I do today.”

Ahead of his next challenge — Pyfer (13-3-0) fights former three-time performance of the night winner Kelvin Gastelum (20-9-0) Saturday in Mexico City — the middleweight reflected on his childhood, and growing up feeling like a “throwaway kid.”

Pyfer, who fights out of Philadelphia, grew up in Vineland before moving to Delaware County and attending Penncrest High. He’s the middle child, raised alongside four sisters — Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and Amy. Some of his earliest fighting memories took place when he was only 4 years old. Pyfer’s father, a boxer out of Kensington, would come home from his own training to coach his young son in jiu jitsu.

Pyfer described his father as mentally and physically abusive. That abuse started when he was just 1. Growing up in such an environment, Pyfer viewed training as his escape.

“There was always a jealousy thing there, and along with verbal and physical abuse as a child very early on, it was tough to deal with,” Pyfer said. “It started at about a year old when I started getting my [expletive] whooped. He never wanted to see me do things better than he did, and I think he was salty that he didn’t get the chance to do it.

“He was my biggest enemy as a child, always stopping me from growing and trying to put me down in the dirt like I would never make it. [Saying] ‘Be a janitor’ and ‘Be a [expletive] loser.’ I probably have forgotten more nasty things that man has said. I think the throwaway kid [feeling] comes from him in particular never believing that I would make something of myself or become anything relevant, and you know, here I am.”

Although Pyfer said there weren’t many good memories from his childhood, there was one moment that did stand out: the first time he listened to Celine Dion. The UFC knockout artist was introduced to songs such as “I’m Alive” and “A New Day Has Come” during his early days training in jiu jitsu.

Pyfer listened to Dion’s music and viewed it as a beacon of hope.

“Celine Dion is a great memory for me. She’s one of my favorite artists,” Pyfer said. “I didn’t have the best childhood and she sings about just staying hopeful for better days to come. She just seems to sing very — it’s not very emotional — but it’s very uplifting. Like I feel excited and happy when I listen to her.”

“If you want to get into the UFC and this is where you want to be, act like Joe Pyfer. Be Joe Pyfer.”

These were the words spoken by UFC CEO Dana White in July 2022 after Pyfer’s knockout performance in his second appearance on the company’s Contender Series, earning him a contract with the UFC.

In the second round, Pyfer dropped opponent Ozzy Diaz with a left hook before finishing him off on the ground to earn the victory. Despite scoring the only finish of the night, it still wasn’t a good enough performance in his eyes.

“I don’t think I was 100 percent because I was so nervous,” Pyfer said. “I knew what was on the line. If you lose twice then you’re probably not getting in, so I think that hindered my performance because I went to play so safe. … After I knocked his [expletive] out, I was like, give me my [expletive] contract. Sign that [expletive].”

A win that night was especially crucial for Pyfer. Two years earlier, in his first appearance on White’s Contender Series, Pyfer lost by TKO after dislocating his shoulder in the first round. From that moment on, he worried about his future in MMA.

“It put me through depression,” Pyfer said. “It put me through a lot of self doubt in the sense that I was told I would never fight again if the surgery wasn’t successful. And the first one was not successful. It was a very dark moment because it took me almost two years to come back.

“I was very skinny. I wasn’t able to lift. I was still dirt poor. I’m living out of my wrestling coach’s [Will Harmon] house that took me in from high school. So, you know, thinking I let everybody down was very hard to deal with.”

Pyfer’s first step back to the octagon came in Atlantic City in December 2021, when he made his return against Austin Trotman on the regional scene for Cage Fury Fighting Championship. Pyfer knocked Trotman out in the second round with a right hand.

Since earning his UFC contract in 2022, Pyfer has had five fights with a 4-1 record. Three of his wins ended by KO or TKO in the first round, and the other came via submission in the second round. Pyfer’s ability to get his opponents out early makes his “Bodybagz” nickname very fitting.

As the middleweight prepares for his next fight against the former winner of The Ultimate Fighter 17, Gastelum, he wants fans to expect one thing.

“[Expletive] violence,” Pyfer said.

“I’m coming to hurt this [expletive]. I’m a very kill-or-be-killed type of guy, and I’m going to be there and I’m going to be in the fire and I think I’ll put him the [expletive] out, so I think I’m going to dominate him. I’m going to try to knock him the [expletive] out, which nobody has ever done — but I have that touch of death in both hands and I think I can put him out and be the first person to do it. So they can expect violence.”

And after all that violence?