Who is Joe Pyfer’s father and why did the UFC star leave home?

Joe Pyfer is one of the most exciting middleweight contenders in the UFC and has an impressive 14-3 record as a professional fighter. Pyfer is set to face Abusupian Magomedov at UFC 320 this weekend.

While Pyfer has undoubtedly made a mark for himself in the mixed martial arts world, his journey wasn't an easy one. 'Body Bagz' grew up in an abusive household and was forced to flee his parents' home before he could even graduate high school.

In an interview on The MMA Hour in September 2022, Pyfer opened up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and how that led him to leave his parents behind. He said:

"I’m not going go into detail of that to that extent, but basically I shoved him, ran out of the house, never went back. And I’ve been discredited from that moment by him ever since then. Laughed at, made fun of, told I was going to be a f****** loser my entire life, man. And it’s very common, there’s a lot of gruesome things that were said."

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He continued:

"When I ran away from home, I had no means to go and train MMA anymore because my dad never let me get my state ID to get my license, he would never let me drive." [H/t: MMA Fighting]

Pyfer's story was immortalized in a documentary named 'Journey to the UFC' and was released earlier this year.

When Joe Pyfer got brutally honest about the abuse he suffered while growing up

Earlier this year, Joe Pyfer opened up about the gut-wrenching abuse he suffered at the hands of his father while growing up and detailed his childhood ordeal. Pyfer recalled being beaten in a humiliating fashion as a child and how he would have to relieve himself out of his room's window out of fear of his father.

In an interview with Shawn Ryan, the UFC middleweight contender reflected on his abusive childhood and said:

"I used to be so afraid to leave my room after getting punished. I would piss out the window because if I even tried to go to the bathroom to get a sip, I got beat the f**k out of for it... F**king terrified, and I p*ssed myself till I was about 12 years old. Wake up from nightmares and sh*t."

He continued:

"He used to do the most humiliating sh*t where you'd have to pull your pants down, they're all sitting in the living room, and you make them all sit in the living room and then beat your a** bare naked in front of all of them, which is very humiliating. You got four f**king sisters. I'm pulling my a** out in front of them just so you can beat me. And he would beat you till you cried."

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