Joseph Duffy has received the step-up in competition he would have wanted after signing a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
Irish lightweight sensation Joseph Duffy will be fighting on the same card as his Tristar teammate and legendary UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
GSP will attempt to become a two-weight world champion by taking on middleweight king Michael Bisping in the headliner, while Duffy will fight on the undercard against another exciting 155 lber on the periphery of the top 15.
For the first fight on his new seven-fight deal, Duffy (17-2, 4-1 UFC) heads to New York to take on James Vick (11-1, 7-1 UFC).
This card just gets better! @Duffy_MMA returns to the Octagon at #UFC217 on a STACKED card in NYC! pic.twitter.com/gvDG8fo7oc
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 25, 2017
Despite his stellar record which includes submission wins over the likes of Abel Trujillo, Ramsey Nijem and Jake Matthews, Vick is one of those fighters, like Duffy, who find themselves unlucky not to be ranked in the UFC’s most populated division.
Both fighters have common ground in that both their losses have come to opponents who are now ranked in the top 15. Duffy’s sole loss inside the UFC’s Octagon came after a three-round mauling from Dustin Poirier, not long after the Donegal man was forced to withdraw from their original bout in Dublin after suffering a concussion in sparring. Whereas Vick lost his chance at breaking into the top 15 when he was knocked out by Beneil Dariush at UFC 199.
Duffy enters this bout coming off back-to-back wins over Mitch Clarke and Reza Madadi. Vick is also riding a two-fight win-streak as he beat Trujillo and Marco Polo Reyes in his last two trips to the Octagon.
