UFC 185's Joseph Duffy focused on UFC debut, new camp – not Conor McGregor

Joseph Duffy

For those feeling long-since saturated by the sight and sound of all things Conor McGregor, they are likely to find a kindred spirit in Irish lightweight Joseph Duffy.

Duffy (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a UFC newcomer, makes his promotional debut against lightweight Jake Lindsey (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at UFC 185 in Dallas on Saturday night.

Owing to the fact that he is the last man to claim a victory over McGregor, the UFC featherweight division’s No 1 contender, Duffy has been ceaselessly inundated with questions about their bout at Cage Warriors 39 in November 2010, when he submitted McGregor via arm-triangle choke just 38 seconds into the first round.

On the verge of the most important fight of his career, Duffy wishes to focus on more-pressing matters.

“All this other stuff surrounding the fight is not important,” he told MMAjunkie. “I have got an opponent in Jake Lindsey on Saturday night, so I’m just going to concentrate on him. I’m going to take it one step at a time.

“Conor is obviously further ahead than me in his UFC career. I’m just going to go at my own pace.”

Joseph Duffy and Conor McGregor

Incidentally, until Gleison Tibau commandeered the accolade at UFC Fight 69 in Boston on Jan. 18, Duffy was also the last man to better Norman Parke, whom he also submitted in the first round, just seven months prior to his victory over McGregor.

However, the unassuming 27-year-old is far more eager to speak about his recent experiences at the famed Tristar Gym in Montreal, where he has been training since Feb. 7 for his UFC Fight Pass-streamed preliminary-card showdown with Lindsey.

Having considered other camps, Duffy was ultimately swayed toward Tristar because he perceived a refreshing combination of intelligence and humility within that environment.

“I just think that the mentality in Tristar is second to none,” he said. “All their fighters are quite crafty; they fight sensibly, use their brain, and there’s not really any egos, so I just thought I’d fit in well. They’ve obviously got top coaches, and I just thought it was a great opportunity to learn.

“They’ve always produced top-notch fighters, and they’ve all been quite humble and modest. I just felt it was a place I’d thrive best in. I was always a massive fan of Georges St. Pierre and loved the way he fought, so I just thought, why not try the place where he was produced?”

Indeed, Duffy had rubbed shoulders with the former welterweight champion before, when he fell just short of making the house/official cast for “The Ultimate Fighter 12.” In the interim, he was handed his only professional loss to date by Ivan Musardo, whom he challenged for the Cage Warriors lightweight title in 2011, before taking a three year hiatus from MMA, during which he went 7-0 as a pro boxer.

He returned to mixed martial arts this past Augusr and submitted Damien Lapilus at Cage Warriors 70 before knocking out Julien Boussuge three months later at Cage Warriors 74, which heralded his signing with the UFC.

During his four week-stint in Montreal, Duffy worked closely with head coach Firas Zahabi, as well as Eric O’Keefe – both of whom will corner him on Saturday at American Airlines Center – and was overwhelmed by the former’s martial-arts acumen.

“I worked a lot with Eric O’Keefe, but Firas has been overseeing every session,” he said. “Also, I had all the fighters. You’ve got a lot of UFC and top-level fighters, and I probably learned something off every one of them. I‘ve been very lucky, and it’s been a dream come true in terms of camps. Firas is very calm and composed and has wisdom beyond his years. How he has managed to cram that much martial arts experience into his lifetime is just incredible. He’s just a book of knowledge.”

After his bout with Lindsey, Duffy plans to sit down with his family and management to discuss the possibility of moving to Montreal on a fulltime basis, which means leaving London, where he trains out of the MMA Clinic.

Yet, he has no intention of looking past Lindsey, and he’s acutely aware that his opponent was undefeated before arriving in the UFC, which has hammered home the point that a considerable jump from the standard he is used to awaits him.

“The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “Jake was doing well before he got to the UFC, and then he dropped two fights on the bounce, but that’s just the level we’re up against. Anything can happen to anyone, especially in this division, so it’s up to us to work our asses off in the gym and hopefully it all comes together.”

For more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.