Joe Pifer and Marc-Andre Barrio at the UFC 303 official weigh-in. Photo Credit: Eddie Law/Cageside Press
Two hard-hitting middleweights in Joe Peiffer and Marc-Andre Barrio rounded out the televised preliminaries card for UFC 303 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The powerful blow came in a bout with “Power Bar” Barriott, who was coming off a loss to Chris Curtis in his native Canada. Pifer, who Dana White once infamously told his fighters how they should be, was also coming off his first loss under the UFC banner, to Jack Hermansson earlier this year.
At the start of the first round, Peifer landed a jab and some hard leg kicks. As Barriault started to circle, Peifer cornered him and landed another hard leg kick. Marc Andre also landed a leg kick and a deep kick, but both missed. Peifer landed an overhand blow on the side of Marc Andre Barriault’s head. The shot hurt Barriault, and Peifer, smelling blood, began to swarm. After landing a left-right-left combo to the body, Peifer returned to the top and landed another hard punch behind Barriault’s ear. As Barriault collapsed to the canvas, Peifer landed one last ruthless blow just to be sure. With this blow, Marc Andre lost consciousness completely and fell face-first onto the canvas.
In an impassioned post-fight interview, Joe Peifer spoke about how his loss to Jack Hermansson motivated him and that he was ready to fight any time, and he also took the opportunity to enthusiastically call out his next opponent, shouting into the microphone, “Paul Craig, come see me in the fall!”
OFFICIAL RESULT: Joe Peiffer defeats Marc-Andre Barrio by KO, Round 1, 1 minute, 25 seconds
