Duffy Passes Irish UFC Torch To McKee

When Joe Duffy retired on Saturday, it briefly left UFC bereft of Irish fighters. Photo by: @InTheCagePL (Twitter.com).

It’s a tradition in combat sports as old as trading punches and making weight. When one fighter goes down, another rises up. 

After Joe Duffy announced his retirement following his lightweight defeat to Joel Alvarez via a first-round submission on Saturday, for a brief lapse of time, there were no active Irish fighters in the UFC.

A combat sport absent of Irish contenders? No, that just wouldn’t do.

Nor would it last long.

Less than a day after Duffy’s retirement announcement, Rhys McKee of Ballymena was announced as part of the upcoming UFC card July 25 on Fight Island. He will face unbeaten Swede Khamzat Chimaev in a welterweight bout in Abu Dhabi.

Their fight will take place on the undercard of the Darren Till-Robert Whittaker bout. McKee must first sign all the necessary paperwork and pass a COVID-19 test in Abu Dhabi before the clash can be officially confirmed as part of the card.

Duffy Bows Out

Forever to be known as the man who beat Conor McGregor quicker than anyone, in the long run Duffy’s career didn’t reach anywhere near the same stratosphere as the Notorious One. 

Still, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of acknowledgement.

Active as a pro since 2008, though Donegal’s Duffy seldom found himself touted as the favorite in the UFC betting odds, he finished his MMA career with a 16-5 record. Duffy won 10 times by submission and took four other verdicts via knockout. Duffy joined UFC in 2015 and went 4-4 in bouts conducted by the promotion. 

In recent years, he’d been plagued by a chronic rib issue. That meant that his bout last Saturday marked the first time Duffy would find himself in competition inside the octagon in 16 months. 

Even though he talked of feeling as if he’d gained a new lease on life, the outcome for Duffy was the same as in his previous two bouts against Marc Diakiese and James Vick. It ended with him suffering a decisive defeat. Alvarez beat him with a guillotine choke in round one.

This time, Duffy opted to read the handwriting on the wall.

“I have been blessed on this journey in MMA and am truly grateful for every experience,” Duffy posted on Instagram. “I felt great all through camp and even warming up, I believed I was back to my former self.

“Then when I went in there, it just falls to pieces. I think it’s time to realize that I haven’t got what it takes any more. Congrats to Joel Alvarez and thank you to the UFC for all the opportunities. I’m sorry I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve for my fans, family, friends and myself but it just wasn’t meant to be. 

“I am officially retiring from MMA competition.”

Duffy’s most famous victory came while competing in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, the top MMA promotion in Europe. On Nov. 28, 2010 in Cork City, during the Cage Warriors 39 card, Duffy gained a victory over future UFC lightweight and featherweight champion McGregor via an arm-triangle choke submission just 38 seconds into their bout. He’s one of four men who can claim that they’ve defeated the Notorious One.

Duffy was also 7-0 as a pro boxer and sparred with world champions Chris Eubank Jr., James DeGale, Andy Lee and George Groves.

A Notorious Comeback?

Conor McGregor is UFC’s most famous Irish fighter. Photo by: Andrius Petrucenia (flickr).

Who’s to say that the lack of the Irish in UFC might not be beefed up by a McGregor return to the octagon?

Taking to Twitter on Monday, John Kavanagh, McGregor’s coach, was reminiscing about July 19, 2014, when all four of his fighters – McGregor, Paddy Holohan, Cathal Pedred and Gunnar Nelson – were winners of their bouts during a UFC card in Dublin.

In doing so, Kavanagh appeared to drop a hint that maybe, just maybe, the Notorious One isn’t done with UFC.

“(Six) years ago today, favourite night of my pro coaching career,” Kavanagh tweeted. “(Four) fights, (four) wins #ufcdublin2014 kick-starting a wild journey which still has a few twists and turns to come!”

Now, for his part, McGregor continues to emphasize that he’s done with his UFC career. But as anyone who follows the fight game knows, retirements are always taken with a grain of salt.

McKee Carries Torch

For now, Irish eyes will be fixated on McKee as he makes his UFC debut. Like Duffy, the 24-year-old, nicknamed Skeletor, comes to the Dana White-run UFC from Cage Warriors. He’ll make his debut on UFC ESPN 14.

The welterweight is 10-2-1 in MMA and has won his last three fights. McKee was slated to battle for the Cage Warriors welterweight title in Belfast. That card was cancelled by the pandemic.

It will be the second fight for the unbeaten (7-0) Chimaev in 11 days. He beat John Phillips in Abu Dhabi on July 15.

According to Irish Cage Warriors fighter Joe McColgan’s Twitter feed, not only will this be McKee’s UFC debut, it will mark the first time he’s ever attended a UFC card.

“Rhys has never been to a UFC event,” McColgan posted. “He was asked to corner his teammate Norman Parke on a number of UFC events and always said no. 

“His reason . . . ? He wanted his first experience of the UFC to be his debut fight.”