Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer headlines Saturday’s UFC Seattle fight card at the Climate Pledge Arena.
(Mat Hayward via Getty Images)
Uncrowned has UFC Seattle live results, round-by-round updates, start time and highlights for the Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer fight card on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Two-time former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya faces off against rising contender Joe Pyfer in the night’s five-round main event, while another former UFC champ — Alexa Grasso — takes on Maycee Barber in a pivotal women’s flyweight matchup in the evening’s co-headliner.
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Once one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, Adesanya (24-5) suddenly finds himself in dire need of a win. The 36-year-old middleweight legend has dropped three consecutive bouts and is just 1-4 over his past five UFC appearances since late 2022. Adesanya’s latest stretch includes stumbles against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis in title bouts, as well as a stunning non-title knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov in February 2025.
Pyfer (15-3) now gets his chance to further add to Adesanya’s decline. A 29-year-old power-punching talent who joined the UFC off Contender Series, Pyfer has won six of his seven Octagon appearances, culminating in his current three-fight win streak over the likes of Marc-Andre Barriault, Kelvin Gastelum and Abus Magomedov. If Pyfer pulls off the upset and wins again at UFC Seattle, he’ll immediately launch into the title conversation at 185 pounds.
The UFC Seattle start time for the preliminary card is at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+. The main card begins live at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
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Follow along with Uncrowned’s live UFC Seattle: Adesanya vs. Pyfer results, highlights and live blog below, including round-by-round play-by-play for the final six fights of the night.
Main card (8 p.m. ET, Paramount+)
Middleweight: Joe Pyfer def. Israel Adesanya via TKO (punches) at 4:18 of R2 | Watch finish
Women’s flyweight: Alexa Grasso def. Maycee Barber via KO (punches) at 2:42 of R1 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Michael Chiesa def. Niko Price via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:03 of R1 | Watch finish
Featherweight: Lerryan Douglas def. Julian Erosa via KO (punches) at 3:33 of R1 | Watch finish
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Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui def. Mansur Abdul-Malik via KO (knee) at 3:39 of R3 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Terrance McKinney def. Kyle Nelson via TKO (punches) at 0:24 of R1 | Watch finish
Preliminary card (5 p.m. ET, Paramount+)
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev def. Ignacio Bahomondes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Lance Gibson Jr. def. Chase Hooper via TKO (knees) at 2:56 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Tyrell Fortune def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s flyweight: Casey O’Neill def. Gabriella Fernandes via knockout (punches) at 3:11 of R1 | Watch finish
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Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Bruno Lopes via TKO (punches) at 4:05 of R2 | Watch finish
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon vs. Adrian Yanez is ruled a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Women’s strawweight: Alexia Thainara def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27 All)
Live coverage is over78 updates
Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:51 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:46 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:45 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:43 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Adesanya attacks to the body with another kick. He fires another behind it. That leg of Pyfer is starting to hurt — then an Adesanya eye poke pauses the action. They quickly resume. Adesanya jabs to the body, then head. Pyfer pursues another body lock takedown. Adesanya fights it off to land a one-two. An uppercut gets through for Pyfer, before he’s greeted with some right hands. He might be stunned! Adesanya hunts. He lands another one-two. Pyfer fires back with his right, swinging big to miss the left. A head kick reaches the target for Adesanya. Pyfer fires back! Big left hook! Adesanya shells up! A Pyfer body lock gets Adesanya down in mount! He gives up his back! Pyfer is working for a choke, but it’s defended well. Adesanya tries to explode, but gives back up the mount to take some elbows. They return to Pyfer on his back. He’s pounding away! It’s over! Pyfer wins!
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:37 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Pyfer whiffs early on a big low kick, then takes one to the outside. Pyfer shoots in for a takedown, but applies a body lock with double underhooks. Adesanya defends well. He tries to shuck off Pyfer and breaks away. They meet in the center, posturing for position. A hard inside low kick lands for Adesanya. Pyfer connects on a right straight. A left hook follows. Adesanya starts to find his jab. Pyfer locks up another clinch exchange, but it doesn’t last. Pyfer punches to the body before taking another inside low. He chops hard at Adesanya’s calf. Adesanya lands a good body kick, then chops outside low. Pyfer bullies his way in, scoring a late takedown near the cage. Too little, too late.
10-9 Adesanya.
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:21 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
From Adesanya’s lens, one fight popped into my head that draws parallels to this one. Remember his 2020 win over Paulo Costa?
There’s something there, folks.
Don’t get me wrong — Pyfer and Costa aren’t that similar, outside of having tremendous punching power. Physically, Pyfer has appeared to be a much more imposing figure, able to chuck opponents around the Octagon like sacks of potatoes if he gets hold of them. However, against someone as technically sound and sharp as the all-time great Adesanya, we’ve seen front-foot aggressors run into serious problems. That’s what makes this fight compelling.
Adesanya suffered a stunning stoppage loss to Nassourdine Imavov in his last time out. But before that finishing sequence, he looked as good and on-point as ever. Very few steps have seemingly been lost by Adesanya, though his chin, arguably, has finally taken enough — and that was against a less powerful striker than Pyfer.
But going back to the Costa fight — it was a near-effortless masterclass from Adesanya, and as a striker, Pyfer has proven to have fewer dimensions than Costa. That could be less of a problem if he mixes in wrestling sequences, but for the most part, he’ll have to overcome Adesanya’s precise counter game and close the distance at every chance. Take some to land one. Pyfer has that nuclear option — he just needs to land it.
In terms of quality of competition, this matchup is a comfortable step down for Adesanya and the inverse for Pyfer. Adesanya still has to avoid danger, but more often than not, he’s been well capable of doing exactly that against a much higher level than Pyfer has shown — at least so far.
Pick: Adesanya
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:16 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:09 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:07 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Grasso launches the first combo, jabbing and landing an outside leg kick. Barber presses in, taking a combo before delivering nicely in return. Grasso chops outside low again. Barber chops inside low. A nice one-two lands for Grasso. They start trading against the cage. Each are looking fast, but Barber isn’t as tight with her technique. That one-two from Grasso drops Barber, then she goes out! Grasso locks on a choke fast but she’s already out! Wow!
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:57 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Part two for these former foes comes with a lot more at stake.
Grasso remains one of the cleanest boxers in the flyweight division, thriving on timing, composure and the ability to capitalize on mistakes. That’s precisely what carried her to a clean win over the young Barber in 2021 and a title run. The Mexican proved she can hang at the very top, but her recent three-fight downslide also showed the fine margins she operates within. When she’s dictating range and pace, Grasso looks sharp. When she’s forced backward, things get trickier, but Grasso’s defense is often sound, as initially highlighted in that first Barber bout.
Barber is the opposite kind of problem. “The Future” has leaned fully into a pressure-heavy, physical style throughout her career, bullying opponents with forward movement, clinch work and steady volume. It’s not always pretty, but it is effective — and, in the past, that style has swayed judges when fights get close.
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Their first meeting showed just how competitive this matchup is. Grasso had success in the cleaner moments, but Barber’s aggression and physicality made it uncomfortable throughout. That dynamic likely doesn’t change too much here.
I will admit, seeing Barber face-to-face at UFC Seattle media day prompted some concerns. She had the look of someone visibly struggling to get through their weight cut — but that’s not exactly new for Barber. So, does it play a factor? I lean toward no based on her track record.
If Grasso can keep this at range and maintain her rhythm, she has the tools to edge another technical fight. But if Barber turns it into a grind — backing her up, mixing in clinch work, and forcing exchanges — it starts to tilt in her favor. Overall, Barber has just tightened up her game and her approach since that first fight.
Expect a closer matchup than we saw in 2021, but one that brings redemption for Barber.
Pick: Barber
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:47 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:42 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:42 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:41 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:39 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
That was a pretty cool moment to see: The last Buffer-Chiesa face-to-face intro.
But we’re off. Price presses fast, winging his left hook. A Chiesa combo whiffs, and they lock up. Price tries to hit a trip, and they jockey for position, leading to Chiesa going to his back. He reverses fast for a slam, then gets right on Price’s back to lock in the rear-naked choke! That’s a wrap! Into the sunset for the “Maverick”.
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:32 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
OK, there’s not a lot to say about the final fight of Michael Chiesa’s career.
“The Maverick” has received quite a layup for his send-off after Carlston Harris withdrew. Although Price is a perpetually thrilling fighter, that’s become more thanks to his ability to “get got” than his proclivity to win. I mean, just a month ago he was eviscerated by Nikolay Veretennikov under two minutes. The man has nine kids to feed. Can we blame him for taking a short-notice opportunity of any kind?
Luckily for Price, Chiesa has never knocked out a soul and has a wildly low strike count per UFC fight.
That being said, Price will take a brief nap in this one after getting easily taken down and submitted, likely in the first round. This is Chiesa’s moment for a hometown swan song. No bones about it.
Pick: Chiesa
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:22 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:21 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
- Sat, March 28, 2026 at 6:19 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Douglas attacks with low kicks to start. Erosa fires back, then jabs. Douglas sticks with the inside low kick. He turns it outside, eating a hook for his trouble. Erosa moves in and eats an uppercut. He starts to fire back with wild hooks, then takes a head kick. Erosa kicks inside low. A hard right wobbles Erosa! The calf kick follows. More uppercuts find the chin of Erosa in tight. He backs up Douglas, and they start swinging wildly! Erosa is continually eating big uppercuts. A tight left staggers Erosa before he’s dropped by a jab! He gets up only for another to put him down! A left lands. He’s out on his feet. Douglas applies pressure and thumps away! Erosa is out! Wow. Nasty work from Douglas.