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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Farah Hannoun and Ken Hathaway

Abdul Razak Alhassan hopes Joe Pyfer brings an exciting fight – not like ‘Buckley’s b*tchass’

LAS VEGAS – Abdul Razak Alhassan is expecting fireworks with Joe Pyfer at UFC Fight Night 229 – at least he hopes so.

Alhassan (12-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) meets Pyfer (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in Saturday’s middleweight co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Boasting a 100 percent knockout rate, it’s no secret what Alhassan’s game plan is. Pyfer has an array of exciting finishes himself, but Alhassan would be deceived if the fight didn’t pan out like he expects, similar to when he lost a split decision to fellow knockout artist Joaquin Buckley in February 2022.

“I’m really hoping for an exciting fights because I thought Buckley’s b*tchass fight was going to be exciting until he started, ‘Let me shoot for his leg, let me shoot for his leg,'” Alhassan told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 229 media day.

“So, I really hope he brings it so we can give the fans a good taste of how good power works. He has a lot of power, I know I have a lot of power. Let’s just go there and see who will be looking at the lights afterwards.”

Alhassan has never minced his words when it comes to Buckley (16-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who also competes at UFC Fight Night 229 when he meets Alex Morono in a welterweight bout.

“You guys know that guy’s a f*cking b*tch,” Alhassan said of Buckley. “Also, everything he does now is just for f*cking clout. But, he’s a cool dude. One thing I realized, he acts hard for the camera, but when he’s in the back, he’s all nice.

“I’m getting old, I don’t want to go back to 170. But, I really hope he comes up back to 185 and if that fight happens, I promise you guys, most of the fight is going to be just my palm open just smacking the sh*t out of him the whole f*cking fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 229.

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