It is safe to say that 2025 has been a burial ground for canceled bouts in the UFC. From Arman Tsarukyan to Dan Hooker, massive headliners and co-headliners have paid the cost of being unceremoniously shelved owing to injuries. And it seems that the misery for Dana White and Co. isn’t over yet. Ahead of the promotion’s Fight Night event in Mexico City on 29th March, the MMA gods have struck again! An exciting middleweight bout suffered a major setback, as Joe Pyfer has officially pulled out of his scheduled showdown against Kelvin Gastelum.

The bout was one of the most anticipated matchups on the card, but with Pyfer’s withdrawal, fans are left wondering what’s next for the former interim challenger and the event itself. Pyfer has now come up with the reason for his last-minute pull-out which was shared by Nolan King on his X account. The post read, “Just wanna say my heart is broken I couldn’t fight today. I got super sick and hopefully, we can reschedule this fight for a few weeks from now. Unfortunately comes with the territory of travelling outside the state. Never again my apologies guys. We’ll be back.” 

In the past, Gastelum has had a history of missing weights and even pulling out of fights, This time, however, it is Pyfer who had to step away, reportedly due to undisclosed medical issues. It seems the young fighter was suffering from some health issues and therefore had to take the tough call.

The UFC had high hopes for this fight, as it was expected to be a test of Gastelum’s resurgence and Pyfer’s legitimacy as a rising contender. Now, with Pyfer out, the promotion is left scrambling to find a potential replacement or reschedule the fight for a later date. Whether due to injuries, weight-cutting complications, or unforeseen circumstances, these withdrawals have become an unfortunate pattern in recent UFC events.

With UFC Mexico City just a few hours away, all eyes are now on the UFC to see if they can salvage Gastelum’s spot on the card. If no suitable replacement is found, fans will have to wait longer to see The Ultimate Fighter winner return to action. Either way, Pyfer’s withdrawal adds one more problem to the event which has been facing a lot of hiccups. One of the problems is the fighters failing to make weight for their upcoming fight.

A closer look at the hiccups Dana White is facing for his upcoming event

The drama of the scales added another layer of intrigue to UFC Mexico as both Austin Hubbard and Ronaldo Rodriguez failed to make weight for their scheduled bouts. The mishap, which took place during the official weigh-ins, put a spotlight on the ever-present challenge of cutting weight and its impact on fighters leading up to fight night. With just hours to go before the event, Ronaldo Rodriguez hit the scales at 127 pounds—one pound over the non-title flyweight limit.

A single pound may not seem like much, but in the unforgiving world of weight cutting, it does have its drawbacks. That minor slip-up will now cost him 20% of his fight purse, as reported by Danny Segura of MMA Junkie—a harsh financial penalty. The fight will proceed at a catchweight of 127 pounds but with a penalty.

Next, it was Austin Hubbard’s whose weigh-in saga was nothing short of a rollercoaster. He initially hit the scale at 157 pounds—one pound over the lightweight limit for his fight against Marquel Mederos. However, Hubbard was pretty confident that he had already made weight on a backstage scale.

To put an end to all the chaos, UFC Senior VP of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner entered the picture. He wasn’t convinced and called for a re-weigh—this time with the infamous box for accuracy. After some back-and-forth with the commission, the official scale was brought in, and just like that, Hubbard registered at 156 pounds.

Hopefully, for the fans, this will be the last problem the UFC head honcho will be facing for the event. What do you feel about the upcoming event let us know your thoughts in the comments below.