The last time Joe Duffy was set to compete close to home, a punch during the last sparring session for his UFC Dublin headliner against Dustin Poirier ended those plans with a concussion that forced “Irish Joe” to pull out of the fight at the last minute.
Fast forward almost two years and, this time, the last gym obstacle before his appearance at UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson in London on March 18 has been passed with flying colors. Just having gone three hard five-minute rounds against fresh opponents in each stanza under the watchful eye of Firas Zahabi, Duffy is enjoying a massage in the back of Montreal’s Tristar Gym to cap off the hard part of training camp.