UFC 181's Todd Duffee talks return from neurological disorder

Todd Duffee didn’t realize he had been depressed until he got a call from the UFC.

The 28-year-old heavyweight had been working toward a comeback to the industry-leader after a fight with a rare neurological disorder left him unable to train. When he got the call offering an opponent, he felt a sense of purpose that was lacking without a firm date.

“Lights start to go off in your head, and you start to feel good,” he recently told MMAjunkie Radio. “You feel a little more positive to make it way easier to go to the gym.”

Duffee (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is now set to make his return to the octagon on Dec. 6 at UFC 181 against Anthony Hamilton (13-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC). The event takes place at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center, and the main card airs on pay-per-view..

Duffee said he’s been relatively free of symptoms after being diagnosed with Parsonage-Turner syndrome, which can cause severe pain in the shoulders and arms followed by numbness. He recently underwent an electromyography (EMG) to check his improvement, but he said he did most of the rehabilitation himself.

“It comes and goes sometimes still, but honestly, the last month or two, it’s been pretty consistent with no pain,” he said. “That’s awesome, because nerve pain sucks.”

Resolving himself to a life without fighting was no picnic, either. When Duffee first learned he was suffering from Parsonage-Turner, it brought a deep sense of loss.

“I went through the typical athlete-loses-their-career withdrawal-depression thing,” he said. “I didn’t realize how bad it was until I got back into the gym and realized, ‘Oh, you’re going to fight again.’ But I would definitely say I went through all that. I had to accept the fact that I may not fight again, so that was a big pill to swallow for a while.”

Getting into the rhythm of a training camp was its own challenge, however. He had to rebuild muscle that had atrophied and relearn a lot of the movements he hadn’t used in the years of his layoff.

“The big thing was the muscle imbalances when I started coming back and moving my body,” he said. “I was just playing that tightrope of too little, too much just because the imbalances would cause me to pull other muscles. But I got to balance it out, and I’m feeling pretty good.”

The heavyweight division Duffee left in December 2012 remains unchanged at the top, with champ Cain Velasquez still holding the belt despite a long injury layoff. There have been plenty of shifts in potential contenders for the belt, however, and that leaves the door of opportunity wide open for a guy like Duffee, who was considered one of the most exciting prospects in the division after his debut in 2009.

Duffee wants to seize opportunity, of course, but he’ll be happy just getting back to consistency.

“I’ve had four years of my UFC career taken from me, so I want to hit the ground running,” he said. “I keep thinking, get in, get out, stay healthy, and then fight immediately in the next eight weeks. If I can fight in the next two weeks, that’s great. I want to get in there, and I want to get active.”

Will he be able to bounce back to his old form? Duffee may, in fact, have an advantage over others with long injury layoffs because he’s had so many of them. Getting back on the horse is something he’s had to do over and over again.

That’s undoubtedly a disadvantage when you’re trying to build a title run, but with any luck, Duffee will be able to stay the course this time around.

For more on UFC 181, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.