Joseph Pyfer Punches UFC Ticket on Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series

Joseph Pyfer did everything he was supposed to do, and he was rewarded for it.

The former Ring of Combat titleholder nailed down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he wiped out Osman Diaz with punches in the second round of their featured middleweight pairing on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Diaz (7-2) bowed out 1:39 into Round 2, his five-fight winning streak at an end.

Pyfer (8-1) seized the reins early in the first round and never truly released them. He struck for a takedown inside 45 seconds, threatened with an arm-triangle choke, advanced to the back and secured his position with a body triangle. Diaz eventually reversed into top position but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Pyfer rattled the reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a crisp one-two at the start of the middle stanza and reset himself for his next assault. He leveled Diaz with a beautiful left hook, hovered above him and brought it to a close with a burst of standing-to-ground punches.

The 25-year-old Pyfer—who suffered a gruesome elbow injury during his first DWCS appearance in August 2020—has won three of his past four fights.

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The three other victors on the card failed to punch their ticket to the UFC. Dennis Buzukja leaned on stellar takedown defense, an obvious advantage in the standup department and a superior gas tank, as the onetime Ring of Combat champion claimed a unanimous decision over Kaleio Romero in a three-round featherweight duel. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Buzukja (8-2), a promising Ray Longo protege.

Romero (6-2) pressed the issue in the clinch with knee strikes to the legs and short punches upstairs but grew less and less effective as the bout moved forward. Buzukja attacked the body in the second round and connected with a knee strike to the head that might have finished lesser men. Romero never stopped competing, even transitioning from a spladle to an attempted twister in the third round. Those efforts from the Team Alpha Male prospect fell short, allowing Buzukja to hang on to the decision.

The 24-year-old Buzukja has rattled off four consecutive wins.

Meanwhile, Anton Turkalj kept his perfect professional record intact with a clear-cut unanimous decision over Acacio dos Santos in a three-round light heavyweight clash. In his first appearance in more than a year, Turkalj (8-0) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the judges.

Outside of a few punching volleys and sneaky counters, dos Santos (14-5) was ineffective. Turkalj closed the distance with surprising ease, neutralized the Brazilian at close range and dragged him to the canvas repeatedly. He advanced to the back on multiple occasions, consolidated his positional dominance with a body triangle and fed dos Santos elbows while hunting for a choke that never materialized.

In other action, Alessandro Costa (10-2) eked out a split decision—30-27, 28-29, 29-28—over previously unbeaten Entram Gym prospect Andres Luna (12-1) in a three-round flyweight affair.