Joe Pyfer On His Mental Health Struggles – ‘It Was A Very Dark Day For Me'

Joe Pyfer turned his greatest achievement into a plea for mental health awareness following his win over Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle last weekend.

Pyfer stood in the center of the Octagon and revealed that he was “seconds away” from taking his own life just weeks before the fight. Pyfer is now a Top 5 middleweight contender, but he admitted that he nearly didn’t make it to the cage at all. Pyfer disclosed that during the peak of his training camp, he faced a mental health crisis so severe that he contemplated suicide. Pyfer used his platform to reveal that turning to God saved him, as it made him appreciate the value of his girlfriend and children.

Pyfer Reacts

"That prayer is what saved me. February 7th was a very dark day for me, I’m ashamed to say it, but it’s a part of what happened and God came to me in a dream to have this out of body experience so I could see who I was…my love was still real and I was able to see my girlfriend now, of six-plus years, as the mother of my two children, something that I was always kind of on the fence of having.

"My entire life just transformed. February 7th was the final straw in me being a piece of crap, and then two days later I had that dream…She really needed to know how much I loved her, even when I didn’t always show it. That girl brought me to where I am now; she’s in my life for a reason, and I think that’s to get to the place I am now as a man. I was a fallen man of the evil of the world," Pyfer said 

UFC CEO Dana White also gave his take on the matter after not being aware how much of a struggle Joe had been through.

"He said he was considering suicide a couple weeks ago? Holy sh*t. That’s unfortunate to hear," White said

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