Joseph Duffy got over cancellation of first Poirier fight when UFC 195 booked

Joseph Duffy had to have been on Cloud 9 in October. Then everything came crashing back to earth.

Duffy (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was set to meet Dustin Poirier (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin. It was to be Duffy’s first UFC main event – and it was taking place in his home city.

But just three days before the event on UFC Fight Pass, Duffy was forced out thanks to a concussion suffered in training.

“It was hard to get my head around for a couple of weeks,” Duffy recently told MMAjunkie at his home training base at Tristar Gym in Montreal. “Obviously, the whole 10-week camp, and the whole excitement of fighting at home and headlining the show …”

It was all gone in an instant. But this week, the lightweights finally get their chance to square off as part of UFC 195, which takes place Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Because Duffy and Poirier were the headliners on a card set to stream on UFC Fight Pass, the UFC decided to keep their rebooked fight this week on Fight Pass, as well – even though in normal circumstances, their bout could’ve been part of the main card on pay-per-view.

Regardless of where it airs, though, Duffy said he was over the disappointment of losing his main event in front of his home fans once the UFC had things booked again.

“As soon as the fight got rescheduled, my head was straight back into training and getting back to work,” Duffy said. “It was a big one for me. As soon as the date got re-announced, I was ready to go again.”

Duffy said he was fairly certain hew new date might wind up being UFC 195, if for no other reason than Poirier’s American Top Team teammate Robbie Lawler is defending his welterweight title in the main event against Carlos Condit.

Still, he was ready to go whenever the UFC decided the fight should take place.

“In a few of Dustin’s interviews, he mentioned getting on the same card as Robbie,” Duffy said. “So I knew it could be a possible date. I was prepared for anything – I didn’t know what they were going to throw at me. But I was just glad to get the fight scheduled and get back to work.

“I’m just concentrating on improving myself. I feel like there are a lot of areas I can still improve, and I’m learning every week here (at Tristar Gym). Come fight time, I feel like I’m going to be twice as ready for this fight.”

Duffy has just one loss in his pro career and has two stoppage wins since coming to the UFC. He’s most notable for being the last fighter to beat UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor. He submitted him in 38 seconds at Cage Warriors 39 more than five years ago.

Poirier has won back-to-back fights since returning to lightweight following a TKO loss to McGregor at UFC 178. His two first-round knockout wins have earned him $50,000 performance bonuses.

For more on UFC 195, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.