It wasn’t long ago that Seattle was a city starved for combat sports, having been overlooked by the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a host city since 2013. Things changed in February 2025 when, despite a bout-ending foul in its headliner, UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song set company records, high future expectations for fans, and the UFC’s sights on another Emerald City event.
Sequels in sports don’t always go swimmingly, but with 2026’s UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer, the world’s premier MMA organization captured back-to-back magic in Climate Pledge Arena, actually managing to outshine last year’s showing.
“Must be something in the salmon here,” translator Fabiano Buskei theorized at the post-fight press conference, following five consecutive referee stoppages on the main card. Russian MMA journalist Vlad Kolos, who has spent 2026 so far covering the UFC from London to Sydney, called it “the best event this year.”
UFC president and CEO Dana White announced a $4.2 million gate for the event, which “broke the record here in the United States again for Fight Nights,” he said. Calling the sold-out Seattle crowd “incredible”, he told reporters he wanted to come back “as much as possible.”
The event’s preliminary fights offered violent, unpredictable entertainment through the afternoon, aroused some controversy and chaos, and left the Octagon floor smeared with buckets worth of blood.
Ricky Simon, a Clark County fighter, made thousands of fans at last year’s UFC Seattle by scoring a huge first-round knockout, but found less success this time around. With the crowd chanting his name, Simon fought ten competitive minutes against Adrian Yanez, but lost momentum and got badly hurt in the third round.
In the closing seconds of the fight, Yanez rained down strikes on his almost unconscious opponent; the horn sounded to end the fight just before the referee could intervene, and Simon immediately wobbled to his feet like a swollen marionette to hug Yanez. When the judges’ scorecards ruled the fight a draw, the two fighters looked equally surprised. As the crowd booed, commentators and retired UFC champions Dominick Cruz and Daniel Cormier both criticized the decision.
An even funkier moment with scorecards came after a heavyweight bout between Marcin Tybura and Tyrell Fortune. Longtime UFC announcer Bruce Buffer declared Tybura the winner initially, but as Fortune dejectedly began to leave the arena floor, he was summoned back to the Octagon to get his hand raised. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the mix-up,” Buffer’s voice boomed through the arena as relief flooded Fortune’s face.
Two fighters with King County ties faced off in the next fight: Chase Hooper and Lance Gibson Jr. Hooper, a jiu-jitsu ace from Enumclaw, spoke during media day about wanting to tangle and strangle his opponent in a grappling exchange, but never got the chance to do so. Gibson Jr stumbled Hooper with a tight clinch elbow and followed with kicks and knees until the referee jumped in.
Though the crowd wasn’t happy initially, the Seattle-born Canadian fighter quelled the boos quickly by bringing up his childhood dream. “I was at field trips when I was a kid… I’d sit outside of this arena, man, and dream of one day being able to be in a stage as big as this and accomplish my dreams,” Gibson Jr said, trying not to cry.
To wrap up the prelims, two high-level lightweights tore into each other over three rounds, winning the Fight of the Night award in a scrap that came with its own controversy. In the second round, gangly Chilean striker Ignacio Bahamondes dropped his opponent, Azerbaijani fighter Tofiq Musayev, with a perfect left straight. As Musayev got to his feet, Bahamondes attempted to mat return him, but was thwarted by Musayev clinging to the fence – an illegal move that went unpunished by the referee.
As noted by Bahamondes’ teammate and former UFC champion Belal Muhammad on social media, that foul “changed everything.” Musayev spent the rest of the round in a dominant position, extracting as much blood as he possibly could from Bahamondes’ face. The Chilean remained game, though, chasing submissions and throwing hard until Musayev’s face was nearly as bloodied as his own. The crowd roared like a white-hot airplane engine as the two battled until the final bell, where the judges gave Musayev a decision win that should certainly come with an asterisk.
All seven preliminary fights at the 2025 UFC Seattle card ended in a knockout or submission. This year’s event, as if upping the ante, saw all five main card fights result in finishes.
Spokane’s Terrance McKinney has become a fan favorite for his kill-or-be-killed style, and things were no different on Saturday as he defeated the Canadian Kyle Nelson in less than thirty seconds. “I got that ninja strength!” he whooped in his post-fight interview.
Mansur-Abdul Malik, an undefeated prospect who notched one of the aforementioned finishes at last year’s Seattle card, found himself outmatched on the feet by 6’6 Tunisian-Dutch kickboxer Yoursi Belgaroui, who flawlessly utilized his reach advantage en route to a third round knee KO.
Between fights, the UFC got around to announcing a well-overdue honor. Demetrious Johnson, hailing from Parkland, is one of the most accomplished fighters of all time, with eleven consecutive title defenses to his name – a UFC record that will likely remain untouchable for a long time. Johnson, who was in attendance Saturday with his wife and children, didn’t receive the warmest treatment from fans, matchmakers, and UFC brass during his championship reign, but his peerless legacy within the organization will be permanently secured with a Hall of Fame induction this summer.
Julian Erosa, a leather-tough cardio fighter representing Yakima, looked to bring home another Pacific Northwest win but could only withstand the power punching of the Brazilian Lerryan “Gunslinger” Douglas for so long before the referee waved the fight off. Douglas, making his UFC debut, won the crowd over with his exciting style and Wild West-inspired celebration. “I can’t wait to go tomorrow to [Pike Place Market], get some seafood, man. I was dreaming about that all week,” he said after the fight.
The next fight would be described by commentators as a “fairytale” – perhaps the first fairytale to involve public strangulation. UFC veteran, MMA analyst, and proud Spokanian Michael Chiesa ended his career on a win, tapping out the wily Niko Price after the latter spiked Chiesa’s head roughly into the mat. The Spokane wrestler shared emotional moments after the fight with his wife and mother before hollering “Go Seahawks!”
In the co-main event, a rematch between female flyweight contenders took place. Mexican former champion Alexa Grasso won a decision in 2021 over perennial contender Maycee Barber, but five years later, Grasso wanted a more definitive result. In a stunning first-round stoppage, she sparked Barber with a left hand before latching onto a rear-naked-choke that left the American fighter glassy-eyed on the canvas.
The headlining fight pitted former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, a highly credentialed kickboxer, against Philadelphia power threat Joe Pyfer. Coming off three losses, Adesanya acknowledged comparisons to the late career skid of his MMA idol, fellow middleweight great Anderson Silva, but expressed determination to “write my own story,” he said.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander won the first round handily, compromising Pyfer’s movement with leg kicks and landing a sharp knee to the face. The next round, however, Adesanya took a different approach, electing to stand in front of Pyfer and brawl instead of landing strikes from distance. Though Pyfer was wobbled briefly after eating a combo, the Philadelphian’s power advantage made up for his movement deficit, and he landed heavy blows on Adesanya before stopping the former champ with ground strikes.
After the fight, Adesanya made clear his intentions to keep competing. With a legendary career behind him, the Kiwi will likely have another opportunity ahead to write the final chapters in his UFC story.
“I almost took my own life, like a couple weeks ago,” Pyfer shared after the fight. He credited finding religion, with the help of his girlfriend, for getting him through it: “All glory to God for this victory or else I’d be dead in a ditch somewhere.”
Pyfer’s admission came as a shock to CEO White when reporters mentioned it at the post-fight press conference. “Holy shit,” he said. “That is unfortunate to hear.”
A question about fans negatively reacting to the recent addition of AI-generated promotional material to UFC broadcasts also didn’t sit well with White. “AI is coming and if we’re using AI, who gives a shit?” he responded. “How about this? Shut the fuck up and watch the fights.”
According to one UFC employee, the success of Seattle’s two recent Fight Nights may lead to another visit to Climate Pledge Arena in 2027. With a massive UFC White House event scheduled for this summer, the landscape of the sport, both competitively and politically, could look entirely different by next year.
Author: Kayvon Bumpus
