Talk of a rematch between interim UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and surging lightweight Joseph Duffy has gained steam since Duffy made his UFC debut in March.
McGregor said he’s all in for it.
Duffy (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is the last fighter to defeat his fellow Irishman. He submitted McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in 38 seconds under the Cage Warriors banner in November 2010 but has downplayed the feat when asked about a second fight.
McGregor’s in the midst 14-fight winning streak since that contest which includes six-straight under the UFC banner. His most recent bout saw him earn the interim 145-pound belt with a second-round TKO of Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in July.
“The Notorious” is currently scheduled to meet featherweight champ Jose Aldo in a title unification bout at UFC 194 in Dec. 12, but that hasn’t stopped him from expressing a desire to avenge the loss to Duffy, whom he holds plenty of strong feelings for.
“I’d love to see Duffy climb that rank; do I think he has it in him? I don’t. I think he’s a journeyman,” McGregor told MMAjunkie. “When I look at his career, he lost his Cage Warriors lightweight title; the lightweight title that I won. He lost, he was submitted in the fourth round and he filled his sh-t with excuses. He had a sore hand or he had this.
“He quit the sport. He moved country. He changed teams. He was Welch job, then he’s in London job, now he’s in Canadian job, then he’s sees my success and all of a sudden he’s Irish job. I would love to see him climb up, and I would KO him stiff just for the way this has all panned out.”
Duffy currently competes in the UFC lightweight division. He’s 2-0 in the organization with two first-round stoppages. The 27-year-old trains at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, which is home to notables such as Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald.
“Irish Joe” will make his first UFC main event appearance on Oct. 24 when he faces former McGregor opponent Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin. If Duffy can build enough momentum to a future rematch with McGregor, who recently stated his intent to move up to lightweight, McGregor said he would “love” to settle his differences in the octagon.
“I see him as a journeyman; I don’t see him making that climb, but we’ll see, it’ll be interesting,” McGregor said. “This a nice opportunity for him to go up and get up there. Let’s see how he handles Dustin, Dustin’s no slouch. Dustin comes to fight. Dustin is experienced. A lot of people think they can do what I do until it’s time to do what I do. It’s a completely different animal with all the media obligation, all the stress. It’s not just showing up at the gym no more.
“I’m interested to see how it goes, I wish him well. When the opportunity, if the opportunity presents itself I will KO him stiff.”
McGregor said his gripe Duffy stems from his decision to depart and return to the sport more than the loss. Duffy took a nearly three-year hiatus from MMA in order to pursue a boxing career. Although Duffy earned a 7-0 record in the boxing ring, he returned to MMA in 2014 and has domination the competition since. McGregor said he believes part of Duffy’s decision to make a comeback was a result of his success.
“He loses the Cage Warriors lightweight belt and quits the sport, blames a broken hand, moves country, changed teams, changes sport then sees my success, my hard work,” McGregor said. “When I face defeat I put my head down and I grinded and I rose up and became a two-weight champion in Cage Warriors and UFC featherweight champion. When he faced defeat he quit the sport and ran.
“He sees my success and my hard work and my drive and my dedication and decides to shave a shamrock in his head and call himself ‘Irish Joe’ and come back. I definitely have my eyes on Al-Joe. We’ll see how it goes but I would love nothing more than to KO him stiff and put him in the ground and send him back to his other sport than he ran to after he lost.”
McGregor made it clear he lacks faith in Duffy’s ability to reach the championship level of the UFC. The fact remains, however, that Duffy still holds a quick victory over McGregor on his record. McGregor blamed on the loss on inexperience and said his success over the past five years shows a difference in character that has brought him to UFC gold.
“(The loss was a) panic situation; you learn your craft as you go and you face defeat like a champion – champions, when they face defeat, he puts his head down and he grinds, dedicates his entire life,” McGregor said. “That’s what champions do. That’s what a three-time world champion does. That’s what I’ve done. When other people face defeat, when journeymen face defeat they blame situations, they face defeat, they go running. That’s what journeymen do. So that’s what he done and what I done.”
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