Pyfer says Nickal fight is off UFC 335, explains turning down Hernandez

Joe Pyfer says his fight with Bo Nickal is off UFC 335 on December 12. Nickal has said it will headline a UFC card in Cleveland in February instead. Pyfer discussed the delay in an interview with Tim Welch, reported by MMA Sucka on Saturday. According to the outlet, Pyfer "had been told Nickal tweaked something and needed more time."

Pyfer also turned down an offer to fight Anthony Hernandez instead, MMA Sucka reports. It doesn't say who made the offer or for what date.

The UFC has not announced the change. Its UFC 335 page still lists Pyfer vs. Nickal on the main card in Las Vegas, and no Cleveland date or venue has been set.

What each side has said

Nickal broke the news himself at a campaign rally for Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, according to Heavy. He told the crowd the fight "actually got moved to February, where I'm going to be main eventing in Cleveland." MMA Mania has the quote. He gave no reason.

Pyfer's account is the first hint of one, but it's second-hand. MMA Sucka doesn't say who told him, and Nickal, his team and the UFC have said nothing about an injury.

Pyfer said he heard about the change three or four days before the interview. MMA Sucka reports how he took it:

"I was like, red-faced, angry, like pissed off, but I just prayed about it."

He had already answered Nickal's rally speech on Instagram with "Poor kid vs rich kid," according to MMA Mania. Pyfer has gone after Nickal before. At UFC 316 media day in June 2025, after Nickal's loss to Reinier de Ridder, he said "if anyone got fraud-checked, we can say it's Bo Nickal," per BJPenn.

Why he passed on Hernandez

Hernandez is ranked #8, two spots behind Pyfer, but he has lost two straight. Sean Strickland stopped him in the third round in February, and Gregory Rodrigues outpointed him over five rounds in August.

Pyfer said a win over Nickal does more for his title hopes, and that he doesn't expect many chances. MMA Sucka quotes him:

"I probably got one real run at the title with the way my injuries are."

Nickal is only ranked #14 but is the bigger name. He is 9-1, his only loss a second-round TKO to de Ridder in May 2025, and he has since finished Rodolfo Vieira and Kyle Daukaus. Pyfer is 16-3 and has won four straight, most recently a second-round TKO of Israel Adesanya on March 28.

Pyfer thinks Nickal's wrestling won't be enough. "If he doesn't take me down and finish me right away, he's going to struggle," he said.

We think Pyfer is taking a real risk by waiting. A February date would leave him close to a year out of the cage, and the new booking isn't on any UFC schedule yet.

The betting picture

There are no odds on the fight yet. As bets, they've been very different. Pyfer has won five of his six UFC fights with closing odds and beat Adesanya as a +114 underdog.

Nickal has won six of seven, but always as a heavy favourite (−250 to −2000). Backing him has roughly broken even. His one loss, to de Ridder, came as a −370 favourite.