EXCLUSIVE: Joe Duffy reacts to Conor McGregor’s knockout victory at UFC 194

Conor McGregor v Joe Duffy II for the lightweight title in Croke Park.

Imagine it! We're still a million miles away from that ever taking place but Saturday night was certainly a step in the right direction as Conor McGregor unified the UFC featherweight title and hinted at an immediate step up to 155 lbs. Joe Duffy, who you may have heard is the last man to beat McGregor, can continue his ascent up the lightweight ranks with a victory over Dustin Poirier on the Fight Pass prelims of UFC 195 on January 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkjwIZhT5hg Duffy was watching the UFC 194 main event on Saturday and was just as surprised as everyone else at how quickly it finished. "Obviously, nobody's going to see it happening the way it did," Duffy said. "I felt that Conor was going to get the knockout at some stage but I'd be lying to you if I said I saw it coming that early. "Aldo's style suited McGregor and I always saw it going McGregor's way. People will say that it was the mind games that led to Aldo dropping his guard but who knows? "Maybe the whole occasion got to Jose but I don't think so. He's been there and done it so many times before. It was just one of those things." McGregor's knockout added more fuel to the fire regarding rumours that 'The Notorious' is the hardest hitter in the featherweight division. Duffy felt McGregor's famous left hand when the pair met in 2010 but the Donegal lightweight admits that he didn't feel anything especially powerful in McGregor's striking. "I can't say I felt the power," Duffy said. "I definitely didn't think it was anything different.

"He had good timing which I hadn't experienced at that point in my career. But you have to keep in mind that I've fought with some of the world's top boxers so I might have a different gauge of power in my mind."

With three weeks to go until Duffy faces Poirier, talk shifted to his training camp as the former Cage Warriors star suffered a concussion in the run-up to their scheduled main event at UFC Dublin. Duffy maintains he will continue sparring late in fight camps as it is necessary to keep sharp and when I put it to him that McGregor changed things up late in his UFC 194 fight camp by employing movement expert Ido Portal, Duffy revealed that he wasn't tempted to follow suit. "Having a movement expert in wouldn't be my way," he said. "I like to concentrate on the whole technical aspect of training. "I like to drill things until they become second nature so I wouldn't be too into the whole movement thing in fight camps but, hey, to each their own. If it works for Conor then good for him." Watch Joe in action at UFC 195: Lawler vs Condit, live on UFC Fight Pass on Saturday, January 2.