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Joe Duffy will be the latest UFC fighter to test free agency.
The 29-year-old Irish lightweight completed the final fight of his UFC deal on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 107, soundly defeating Reza Madadi to cap off a sterling 4-1 Octagon run. And just days afterward, Duffy confirmed what many observers within the mixed martial arts world already suspected: he intends to see what kind of opportunities await him on the open market.
“I suppose we’ll have to wait and see now,” Duffy said on The MMA Hour. “I’ve come this far. I’m definitely going to test free agency. I’m going to see what offers come in. I believe there’s something like, maybe 90 days, before I can speak with other promotions or something. Obviously I know the UFC has a window now where they can make some offers, so who knows what offers they’ll make.
“So, I suppose I’m just going to wait and see. I’m going to look at my options. This sport is not a sport we’re in for the rest of our lives, so I’m definitely going to try to make the most of it in the short space of time we’re in it. It’s not like we’ve got a pension plan or anything else, so I’ve got to try and weigh out the options and go for the best option.”
Duffy (17-2) has thus far impressed over the course of his UFC run, scoring a trio of first-round finishes — highlighted by a 25-second submission of Mitch Clarke — while only faltering once in a contest against top-10 ranked lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. Duffy also is a native Irishman with a built-in storyline of being just one of three men to defeat reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, having done so in just 38 seconds back in 2010 under the Cage Warriors umbrella.
But stalled contract talks with the UFC led to a protracted delay in competition for Duffy following his July 2016 victory over Clarke. So after spending eight months biding his time on the shelf, and with the stakes looming of how a win or loss at UFC Fight Night 107 would affect his next potential payday, Duffy admitted that his meeting against Madadi felt different than any other fight during his UFC tenure.
“I think I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the pressure,” Duffy said. “Certainly through camp, every session, it felt like it mattered a little bit more. Even fight week, it was slightly different. There was definitely a different feel to it. The pressure was there in the background. I felt maybe my mind would wander now and again, but I knew I had a very tough fight, and I think the fact it was (against) someone like Reza helped, because I had to really focus on the fight itself.”
Full story here:
With UFC deal up, Joe Duffy ‘definitely going to test free agency’
