Dana White took to the dais at the Climate Pledge Arena to answer an array of questions from the assembled media at the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference.
Here’s a recap of some of the key topics covered:
From his emergence on Dana White’s Contender Series to his impressive finish of Israel Adesanya in Seattle this weekend, it’s been an incredible rise for Joe Pyfer, whose performance, and overall journey, has left UFC boss suitably impressed.
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“For Pyfer to come in at number 14 and beat Israel Adesanya – one of the best middleweights ever and the number four ranked guy – it's pretty impressive. And to finish him,” he said. “It’s huge. And more importantly, you know the Joe Pyfer story, and now the guy’s ranked in the top five in the UFC, which is very, very tough to do.”
Former UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso headed into UFC Seattle on a two-fight skid, and faced a tough test against in-form Maycee Barber, who had her sights set on a title shot at 125 pounds.
However, it was Grasso who prevailed at Climate Pledge Arena, with a stunning finishing sequence that rendered Barber unconscious, and put Grasso back in the win column in spectacular fashion.
Results, Highlights & More From UFC Seattle
White hailed the finish as one of the best he’s ever seen, saying, “I think it's one of the greatest finishes in the sport’s history, let alone this year, tonight, or whatever. It was incredible.”
On a night where the fans in Seattle were treated to a host of highlight-reel moments, it was a tough job to narrow down the field to award bonuses for Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night.
In the end, Tofiq Musayev and Ignacio Bahamondes took home $100,000 each for their involvement in the standout matchup of the night, while Pyfer and Grasso both banked $100k each for their respective performances.
One man who delivered a big finish, but missed out on the big payout, was Terrance McKinney, and White admitted that they did weigh up his performance when working out the bonus winners, but also pointed out that, under the new bonus structure, McKinney still took home a finish bonus of $25,000 for his night’s work.
See Who Won Bonuses At UFC Seattle
“It was a rough night to pick bonuses, and that’s always a good problem to have,” he said. “But anybody who gets a finish gets a bonus, too.”
White was also asked his view on the performance of Lance Gibson Jr., who delivered an excellent display to defeat Chase Hooper and claim a hometown victory in the city of his birth.
“That's what this game is about,” he said. “This game is about opportunities, and who takes them, who delivers. (It’s) no different than we were just saying about Pyfer. Everybody's taking an opportunity, and you're all trying to have the best possible performance you can have.
“I mean, (look at) Casey O'Neill tonight. We could just go down the list – the card was incredible.”
White also offered a few words on the retiring Michael Chiesa, who marked his final UFC appearance with a first-round submission of Niko Price as he brought the curtain down on his UFC career with a win in his hometown.
“Well, Ali (Abdelaziz, Makhachev’s manager) was out there talking, saying in July – and it's August that we're looking at.”
“Possibly. Nothing’s done. Nothing’s even remotely close to being done.
“I am (optimistic McGregor will return). I was pretty optimistic at the end of last year. So, end of last year (to) going into this year, I’m still confident.”
“I believe if Claudia (Gadelha) wants it done, she’ll get it done.”
“This place is awesome! We were lucky because we were in London last week, and the weather was better than summertime there. And then we come to Seattle, and the weather's good, too. Polymarket should have took some odds on that one!
“The weather's great, the fans here are incredible, it's a great city. Seattle's a great city. And, yeah, I'll come back here as much as possible.”
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on March 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
