After Dana White announced Israel Adesanya’s return to the Octagon for the UFC Seattle card, the undercard has descended into chaos. While Adesanya looks to come back from a three-fight losing streak at the Climate Pledge Arena against Joe Pyfer, a fight in the undercard has now been called off for the third time.

“Stephanie Luciano, nicknamed ‘Rondinha’, is injured,” wrote AgFight on X (translated to English). “And out of the fight against Alexia Thainara, nicknamed ‘Burguesinha’. The Brazilian fighters were scheduled to face each other on March 28th at UFC Seattle.”

Now, this is the third time that the same matchup is getting affected. For those missing out on the developments, the women’s strawweight bout was first scheduled between Nicolle Caliari and Carol Foro. However, for an undisclosed reason, Caliari pulled out of the fight.

Then came Stephanie Luciano in the picture, replacing Caliari. But who knew the revelation following that would be so shocking? As such, the UFC Seattle fight would have been Foro’s promotional debut. However, during a drug screening, she tested positive for a banned substance. As a result, the UFC had to force Foro to withdraw from the fight against Luciano.

While the fans might have believed the developments around that bout had ultimately settled in, there came another twist. Following Foro’s pullout, Alexia Thainara stepped in as a replacement. But, with just a few weeks left for the event, Thainara’s opponent, Luciano, has reportedly withdrawn due to an injury.

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The UFC matchmakers have found themselves in trouble recently when the Mexico City card’s main event had to be altered. Brendon Moreno was supposed to face Asu Almabayev, but the latter had to withdraw from the fight due to an injury. Lone’er Kavanagh later replaced him in the main event of the card.

With that said, the official decision from UFC’s side is yet to be made regarding UFC Seattle undercard, along with the potential replacement for Luciano. Amid that, while the undercard matchups go through shake-ups, the tension in the headliner bout rises. To that end, Pyfer promises to put out a standout performance against Adesanya.

Joe Pyfer on fighting Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya is heading into UFC Seattle fight as an underdog. And that is for the second time in his UFC career. Surely, Adesanya’s recent form can be one of the reasons. But one cannot overlook the rise of his opponent, Joe Pyfer, in the promotion.

Pyfer entered UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series, and now he stands on a record of 6-1. Apart from his loss to Jack Hermansson, the American has put out strong performances. And heading into a fight against Adesanya, he aims to repeat the same.

“I’ve always envisioned fighting him one day, just never thought it would happen, and here we are,” said Pyfer on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I’m hyped, bro. We’re going to be well prepared. I have good jiu-jitsu, I’m a black belt, I have good wrestling, and a lot of parts of my game are still underrated because I’m always hunting a knockout. This fight will be different.”

Stylistically, Pyfer relies on a Jiu-Jitsu pedigree, while Adesanya loves stand-up exchanges. However, the striking prowess of ‘The Last Stylebender’ has failed to overcome the likes of Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus du Plessis, and Sean Strickland in his last three fights.

However, at UFC Seattle, whether Adesanya makes a comeback or fails for the fourth consecutive time will be interesting to see. On that note, who do you think wins between Pyfer and Adesanya? Let us know in the comments below!