Issue 133
October 2015
He may be a more mellow and mature since his formative years in Iowa, but Jeremy Stephens is still the most violent man at 145lb
Joseph Duffy
UFC Lightweight
He may have been known predominantly as the last person to defeat interim UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, but now Joseph Duffy is beginning to make a name for himself inside the Octagon. Following two impressive first-round finishes against Jake Lindsey and Ivan Jorge, ‘Irish Joe’ is set to head up the UFC’s highly-anticipated return to Dublin on October 24th. Fighters Only caught up with the 27-year-old lightweight, who’s set to be the next breakout star out the Emerald Isle, and found out how his martial arts journey saw him arrive at the brink of superstardom.
Q. How did you get into MMA? Donegal isn’t exactly known
as an MMA hotbed.
A. I actually moved to South Wales when
I was quite young. I started martial arts when I was five and it was just a natural progression really. I started learning jiu-jitsu, taekwondo and kickboxing and ended up in MMA.
Q. What do you recall about your first MMA fight?
A. I remember it quite clearly. It was only amateur, so no head shots on the ground. I was really excited because I had to be held back when I wanted to do it. You have to be 16 to do it and I’d just turned 16 a couple of months before. I was really excited to get in there. As soon as I started fighting I felt comfortable. It was just something that suited me down to the ground.
Q. Were your parents ever scared for you because you were a young kid embarking on this potentially very dangerous martial arts journey?
A. My mother actually trained with me. She started a year after me and she trained with me all the way up to a few years ago. She does get terrified when I’m fighting now, but my dad got into it more when I started MMA. He was always supportive and still is to this day. Anything I ever need he’s 100% behind me.
Q. What disciplines did your mom train in?
A. She was doing it all as we went through it really. I was with the same club from five until I was 22 or 23. She started with taekwondo, had a few semi-contact kickboxing fights and when I started jiu-jitsu she had a few grappling matches with the gi, so she dabbled in it all. She got to a decent level.
Q. You were signed to the UFC earlier this year, but you had a pretty extensive combat sports background before that. Does it freak you out that you could be considered an MMA veteran in a few years?
A. Yeah, it’s crazy how fast this has all gone by. I suppose now feels like the right time. As long as it’s taken for me to get to where I am, it’s taken that long for the right reasons. I feel like now when I move forward, I can do it at the level I expect of myself.
Q. You had a brief and successful stint in pro boxing, racking up seven straight wins in 2013. What was the experience like, taking three years away from MMA?
A. Making the decision was always difficult because I love MMA and love martial arts in general. However, I was learning a lot when I was boxing and I enjoyed the new goals. I was trying to improve myself just on the feet and there was a lot to learn. There was a lot more detail and it was a lot more intricate than I thought. It was a great experience and I’m glad I did it but I’m happy that I’m back in MMA now.
Q. Did you feel a bit unfulfilled in the boxing ring?
A. It never really gave me the same buzz. Every time I won it never gave me the same feeling as when I won an MMA fight. I’d basically win a fight, go home and go to bed. It was quite boring. Deep down it was just never the same.
Q. You’ve moved over to Tristar in Montreal for your last two camps and trained alongside another rising European talent, Tom Breese. What instigated your switch to Canada?
A. Myself and Tom Breese both have the same management and there was a connection there. Graham Boylan, our manager, sorted it all out so it went from there. Tristar has been a really good move for me. I like the gym, the team and the entire setup.
Q. Ahead of your UFC debut performance against Jake Lindsey, was that the first time you’d trained there?
A. I’d never been abroad for any type of camp or anything like that really. So I arrived in Montreal basically looking for a new home and a camp where I could build on my potential in the UFC. I’m a loyal athlete and once I find a gym I like, I stay there for a long time. But I didn’t have a home for MMA after being in boxing in the last few years so I was basically looking for a world class gym to join. Once the opportunity came to travel to Montreal I was interested and I’ve not looked back.
Q. Were there any kind of nerves going over to such a hugely successful camp?
A. To a degree. There are always going to be nerves when you’re out of your comfort zone and it’s a whole new thing altogether. However, since I’ve been in London (England) where I moved to earlier in my career, I’ve been out of my comfort zone quite a bit, and that’s what takes you to the next level.
Q. You’ve not only trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but also spent a lot of time training Japanese jiu-jitsu too. How did that come about?
A. I studied classical jiu-jitsu from the age of 10 and I competed in it. I regard jiu-jitsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu as just the same thing really – I just regard it as jiu-jitsu. I’ve been brought up with Japanese so I just consider them to be the same thing. I’m training under Firas Zahabi and Firas is a black belt in BJJ, but my whole style of MMA I consider to be jiu-jitsu. And jiu-jitsu is striking also. So I consider it all to be one.
I also try to get over to Worcester, in England, and train tai jutsu kai, and I have done since I was a kid. I try to get back there as often as possible. Ross Iannoccaro, who’s the head (trainer) there, has brought me back for seminars and so on. I always try to keep my links. Ross was actually at my fight in Glasgow as well, so I’d like to thank him for making the journey with me, all the way up.
Famous foes
By popular demand
Q. Did you ask to face Dustin Poirier, or was that just the most logical fight?
A. I didn’t ask for it. It was basically the fans on social media who were interested in seeing this fight. Dustin mentioned he was interested in getting on the Ireland card as well. Maybe that played a part. It’s a massive fight. Dustin was ranked top five at 145lb division and he’s ranked top 15 at 155lb so it’s a big opportunity for me.
The Conor question
Q. As the last man to beat Conor McGregor, are you sick of having to talk about him?
A. Yeah, it’s the same old question (laughs): ‘You beat hm before, can you beat him again?’ Obviously you do get a bit sick of hearing your own voice say the same things over and over, but I understand why people keep asking the question because of how big he’s got. It is what it is for me.
Number cruncher
x2
Duffy had back-to-back submission wins in 2010 over two well-known UFC Irishmen. First Norman Parke tapped to a rear naked choke, then Conor McGregor submitted to an arm triangle.
95.5% wins
Duffy has lost just once across 22 professional fights in boxing and MMA, via a guillotine choke submission to Swiss fighter Ivan Musardo in October 2011.
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