Duffy is the latest Irish fighter to be added to the UFC roster
Irish MMA fans received great news tonight that Donegal native Joseph Duffy had been snapped up by the world’s largest MMA promotion, according to the Score. Here are six facts about the mixed martial artist that you may not have known (although you definitely know at least one of them).
He’s beaten Conor McGregor
Let’s get this one out of the way early. Odds are you already know that Duffy has not only beaten the Notorious, but he is the last person to do so in professional MMA. Duffy submitted McGregor with a sublime arm-triangle just 38-seconds into their bout in the European promotion Cagewarriors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkjwIZhT5hg
He’s beaten Norman Parke
McGregor’s not the only big-name Irish fighter who Duffy has defeated. He submitted (noticing a trend here?) the Bushmills native via rear-naked choke in his last fight before taking on McGregor. Parke has gone on to have a great career in the sport and is undefeated in five MMA bouts. His last loss in professional MMA (surprise, surprise) was to Duffy.
He’s the first non-Dublin based Irish fighter in the UFC
At least from the 26 counties of the Republic. Tom Egan, the first Irish fighter in the UFC fought out of SBG in Dublin, as do McGregor, Cathal Pendred, Patrick Holohan and Aisling Daly and Neill Seery fights out of Team Ryano in Dublin. Duffy splits his training time between MMA Clinic and Team Titan in London.
He doesn’t like going the distance
In his 13-fight MMA career, Duffy has gone the distance just once. He amassed eight submission victories and another three by knockout. The dude just does not seem to enjoy hearing the final bell. In fact, his only loss came by way of submission to Ivan Musardo in Cagewarriors back in 2011. The Swiss submission specialist caught him with a guillotine choke on that occasion.
Check out Duffy’s stunning 36-second knee KO in his last bout below. It’s a real doozy.
He was on the reality TV Show The Ultimate Fighter
Duffy had a brief flirtation with the UFC before. He was one of the contestants on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter coached by Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koshcheck. However, he was submitted by Kyle Watson in a qualifying bout and didn’t make it into the house.
He’s a talented boxer
After leaving MMA in 2011, Duffy began his professional boxing career in 2013. He held a perfect 7-0 record in the ring before making his MMA return last year.
