Mick Maynard's Shoes: What's next for Joe Pyfer after UFC Seattle win?

Joe Pyfer can no longer be ignored as a relevant force in the middleweight division after taking out former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 271.

Pyfer (16-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) showed up in the biggest spot of his career Saturday at Climate Pledge Area in Seattle when he used his superior grappling to ground Adesanya (24-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) and batter him for the second-round TKO, marking his forth straight win in the octagon.

Although Pyfer beat a late-career, skidding version of Adesanya, it still represents the biggest victory on his resume thus far and elevated him several tiers in the 185-pound weight class.

Pyfer failed to capitalize on the momentum of the moment and make a post-fight callout, so it's hard to gauge where he feel he fits in this division, which will next see champion Khamzat Chimaev defend against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9.

He's not yet in the conversation to get the winner of that fight, but another main event win and Pyfer could be right there. A showdown with Caio Borralho (18-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who is coming off a decision victory over Reinier de Ridder at UFC 326 this month, has the makings of a title eliminator of sorts, and that feels like an appropriate booking for both coming off this performance.

Other available name toward the upper tier of the weight class include former champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), the hard-hitting Gregory Rodrigues (19-6 MMA, 10-3 UFC) or, if the promotion wants to go crazy, top contender Nassourdine Imavov (17-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC).

Any of those would represent another quality potential win for Pyfer, and one he could argue would merit him his first chance at UFC gold.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Seattle matchmaker: Who's next for Joe Pyfer after win?