“Back where I belong” after winning UFC 303

LAS VEGAS – Joe Pifer doesn't seem too concerned about public opinion following his first loss in the UFC.

Pifer (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) caught the attention of many with his performance on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022, including the catchphrase that UFC CEO Dana White released when he announced he was heading to the big show: “Be Joe Pifer.”

“The Bodybags” lived up to his expectations in his first three bouts, as he knocked out Alen Amedovsky, Gerald Meeschat and Abdul Razak Alhassan before the third round, but in his fourth bout he made it to the third round and then the deciding round before losing by unanimous decision to Jack Hermansson.

Pifer quickly felt people fall off his train after his first loss at UFC, and he has stayed true to his self-imposed promise to stay quiet before bouncing back against Marc-Andre Barrio at UFC 303.

“The only thing that's changed is the social media world, but my heart hasn't changed, my mindset hasn't changed,” Pifer told reporters at UFC 303 media day. “…We live in a woke, shitty world with a lot of wimps, so I don't have a lot of respect for a lot of people who have to keep their mouths shut because it's the societal norm. There's a lot of shit that I'm not going to get involved in because the societal norm isn't necessarily right.”

Pifer says he hasn't let the shift in public perception deter him and has been working hard to get his winning ways back. During this camp, he's focused on fine-tuning his nutrition plan and is feeling great with his bout against Barrio (16-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC) just days away. He expects people to come back soon if he performs as well as he knows he can and earns his fourth UFC knockout victory.

“Everybody's acting like I got knocked out or choked out,” Pifer said. “Look, I lost by decision, by one round, and in the third round, I got shot in the eyeball and couldn't see the rest of the fight, so that's just people's delusion that I lost by that much. He's had 17 UFC fights, and that was my fifth fight, and I was coming into that fight in my fifth fight.”

“I'll be right back where I belong, trust me.”

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 303 event hub.