Having recently announced that he would be continuing the trend of Irish fighters signing to the UFC, and just this week having been told the details of his UFC debut, 2015 looks set to be an exciting year for Donegal-born Joseph Duffy.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani as a guest on The MMA Hour, Duffy discussed a number of topics such as his try-out for season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, his decision to switch back to MMA after a successful stint in professional boxing, and his new training base in Montreal, but first he had to field a question about his unofficial nickname as "The last man to beat Conor McGregor" which seems to be popping up everywhere, including Balls.ie, and how he feels about that, to which he responded:
Obviously it's not ideal, that's not how I would like to be known, so I'm excited to get started in the UFC and pave my own way so hopefully I can put in some good performances and people will remember me for future performances and not past ones.
Duffy was then asked if he enjoys seeing the success of Conor McGregor because of what it is doing for his own reputation, having been the last man to beat him before his impressive win streak, but the Donegal native was quick to play down any feelings of satisfaction in that regard.
I wouldn't say for that reason but obviously I'm rooting for him. I think you can see with all the Irish fighters they are sticking quite tight and supporting each other, and I think, what could be better than seeing an Irish champion? It would be great for Irish MMA and our country.
The most intriguing aspect of the chat was when Helwani played him a recording of Conor McGregor responding to the suggestion that himself and Duffy could have a re-match, to which McGregor obviously welcomed the idea. Here is what Duffy had to say on the matter:
We're both in the fight business and that’s our job. Our job's to fight, and not ask too many questions. So, you know, if that fight came up down the line, then yeah, definitely. Who doesn't want to be fighting one of the top guys in the world?
We can't help but get excited at the prospect of two top-level Irish fighters competing on a major UFC stage, but for the moment lets just hope Joseph Duffy gets the job done against Vanger Rocha at UFC 185 in March, and we wish him all the best.
You can watch the full interview with Joseph Duffy on The MMA Hour here, Duffy joins in at around 47:30.
