‘I Almost Took My Own Life’—UFC’s Joe Pyfer Credits God With Saving Him

After a major victory over the weekend, mixed martial artist Joe Pyfer testified that the only reason he’s still alive is because “God restored me.” Pyfer, aka “Bodybagz,” defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle on Saturday (March 28). While still in the cage, Pyfer admitted to the crowd, “I almost took my own life like a couple weeks ago, and I found God.”

Ahead of the matchup, Pyfer shared that he had experienced a “complete resurgence” spiritually. Although the 29-year-old had been a Christian, his faith was “lukewarm.” Pyfer credited his girlfriend’s influence, plus a powerful dream, for helping him do a 180 with his life.

For Pyfer, a mixed martial arts (MMA) professional since 2018, fighting is no longer his top priority. “God’s first” now, he said.

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UFC Fighter Joe Pyfer: ‘God Called on Me in a Dream’

Following his Middleweight victory at UFC Seattle, Joe Pyfer described a powerful dream in which God appeared to him and “chose me.” God “took my hand and gave me a restored life, a renewed life,” he said during a press conference.

Pyfer was “born into chaos and a messed-up family, as many children are,” he said, referencing struggles with “lust issues” and a “toxic cycle of coping.” In his dream, the fighter felt “disgusted about who I am” and was able to “take Jesus’ hand and actually change.”

“You can be a better man,” Pyfer told his supporters. “God is real, Jesus is real, and there’s certain ways that you’re called to live.”

While speaking to Full Send MMA ahead of the Saturday’s match, Pyfer said he’s now in a “rebuilding phase” of life. “I’m a baby Christian, but I feel like a born-again believer, and I feel like it’s very important for me to talk about it,” he said. “I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea,” Pyfer said of following Jesus. But he urged unbelievers to “give yourself a chance because it’s true freedom.”

Before his life change, Pyfer said he was in a “fragile state” and “would have self-destructed.” Now that the fighter’s longtime girlfriend has helped him put God “at the center of everything,” he said, his faith and relationships will be his true legacy. “I want a family more than anything right now,” said Pyfer.