Joe Pyfer is eager to get back into the cage but is adamant that it won’t come in Mexico.
The 28-year-old Philly native was forced to withdraw from a featured bout at last weekend’s UFC fight card in Mexico City against former 185-pound title challenger Kelvin Gastelum after succumbing to what appeared to be food poisoning in the hours before he was due to make his walk.
In a message posted to social media soon after the news was made public, Pyfer said that he hoped that the fight with Gastelum could be rescheduled in the coming weeks — and would later elaborate in an Instagram Story the precise (and unpleasant) details that led to his withdrawal.
“Went to dinner, had some food at a place that was supposedly trusted, and yeah… a couple hours later, I had the runs,” he said, as noted by MMA Junkie. “I think I sh*t at least 10, 11 times. I went from I think 209-pounds, something like that, as I was still hydrating, down to 194-pounds the morning of with a puddle I was sleeping in.
He added that he was experiencing, “fever, nausea obviously. Vomit, excruciating stomach pain, and the doctor, as well as I did, didn’t find it smart to fight like that. And I know that’s not what everybody wants, but I have to look out for me and my health, and what’s my best interest. Trust me, I am upset as well.”
And the entire experience, Pyfer said, has formed a resolve in him to never consider fighting in Mexico ever again.
“I don’t care if it’s offensive to you, I will never go back to that country,” he said.
“I did everything right. I slept in a tent. I did all this work to still get sick. Some people are saying it wasn’t the food, saying I got altitude sickness. I’m not a f*cking geographic f*cking, you know, elevation f*cking scientist, but I was told as long as I acclimated, which I did for two months, slept in a tent on the f*cking floor. You know, I did everything that I could to prepare.
“If that’s what altitude and elevation is, f*ck that country. I will never fight there again. Sh*t hole. Not going back. Don’t care if that’s offensive to you. You’re not the one fighting.”
