Dana White’s Contender Series standout Joe Pyfer has booked his second UFC assignment.
Pyfer is set to take on Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight bout at UFC 287, which does not have an announced location or venue but takes place April 8 and airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
MMA Junkie confirmed the booking between Pyfer (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Meerschaert (35-15 MMA, 10-7 UFC) with two people close to the situation following an initial report from Twitter user Jake Noecker. They requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.
Pyfer, 26, came off DWCS with the affection of the UFC president behind him. He parlayed that into a successful octagon debut in September, when he defeated Alen Amedovski by first-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 210.
He’ll get a sizable step up in competition, however, with Meerschaert, 35, who has the most submission wins and second-most finishes overall in UFC middleweight history. Meerschaert is coming off a third-round submission of Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 41 in August.
The latest UFC 287 lineup now includes:
- Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
- Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Nikolas Motta
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
- Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
