Joe Duffy will be making his first UFC appearance since March, 2019 when he takes on Yoel Alvarez at Fight Island. Duffy will be hoping that the time off will help him snap his two fight losing streak. The Irishman last got his hand raised in March, 2017, with a quick submission win over Reza Madadi.
Joe Duffy – a native of Donegal – has continued to train out of Montreal. Duffy recently spoke to Neil McGrath and discussed his return to the Octagon. He says that a nagging rib injury is feeling much better, which is great to hear. Duffy also recently became a father. He says that having his wife with him in Montreal has provided a cornerstone and improved his training.
Betting wise, FanDuel currently has the Joe Duffy moneyline at (-360).
As for Yoel Alvarez, it has been over a year since we last saw him as well. He defeated Danillo Belluardo last June but lost his UFC debut to Damir Ismagulov.
Duffy of course will always have the Conor McGregor connection. It only took 38 seconds for the then undefeated Duffy to secure an arm-triangle choke at Cage Warriors 39 back in 2010. Over a decade later, McGregor is retired (I feel like I should put that in quotes) while Duffy is looking to get back on track.
Needless to say, this is a huge fight for Joe Duffy. A loss here would be very bad, especially given how much he’s favored. That would mean three defeats in a row, with his last victory coming in 2017.
With that said, Duffy’s MMA record is still outstanding and he will certainly be hoping that the layoff will pay dividends. The 32 year-old is (16-4) professionally and (4-3) in the UFC. He went the distance with Dustin Poirier in 2016 and has only ever been knocked out by James Vick.
You can watch “Irish Joe Duffy” square up with Alvarez on ESPN or ESPN + tomorrow evening.
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