Joseph Duffy.
BY SEÁN P. FEENY
AS THE nation is gripped by Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fever, a Donegal man is getting excited about his training camp in the home of one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all time ahead of his much-anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut.
Earlier this week it was confirmed that Burtonport native Joseph Duffy will make his debut on the stacked card of UFC 185 in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, March 14.
Topping the card will be the 5-Round UFC Lightweight title fight between defending champion Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos, while another highlight on the card will be number one Welterweight contender Johny Hendricks’ three-round bout with Matt Brown (ranked at six).
Meenbanad man Joseph will be facing 32-year-old Brazilian Vagner Rocha Rocha (with an 11-4-0) on his UFC debut at the American Airlines Center.
Joseph said: “This will definitely be the biggest event I have competed at to date. There are some really big fights in the main events which will be in front of a crowd of over 18,000 people at the American Airlines Center.”
Joseph has been training hard since New Year, well before it was confirmed that he would sign with the UFC, so now he is well prepared for the next big step.
Thanks to the assistance of his management team, Graham Boylan and Intensiti Fighter Management, Joseph will be travelling to Canada on February 7 where he will be going into training camp in preparation for his UFC debut.
Joseph will be training under Coach Firas Zahabi at the world famous Tri Star Gym in Montreal, home of former three-time UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre (GSP).
Georges St-Pierre with trainer Firas Zahabi at the Tristar Gym in Montreal
The affable Donegal man said no other country could boast such a level of support amongst the fighters as Ireland.
“While we are all busy with our own training schedules, we do keep in contact and guys like Norman (Parke) and Paddy (Holohan) have sent kind messages of support since I signed with the UFC. It’s great to see everyone being so supportive of each other and hopefully we can all make it to the top and make our country proud,” said Joseph.
Don’t miss Joseph Duffy’s full interview in tomorrow’s Donegal News
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