Chris 'The Problem' Duncan will face Manuel 'El Loco' Torres at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Albazi, set for Mexico City on February 24th.
The pair of Contender Series alumni will square off in a Lightweight contest which will see the both men put their UFC undefeated records on the line.
Duncan had a difficult road to get into the UFC. He was originally slated to face Manuel Gaxhja on week 5 of the 2021 Contender Series, after making weight, Gaxhja fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Duncan was given the option to fight just two weeks later, of which he took. This meant the Scotsman had to cut weight twice in two weeks and ended up facing Viacheslav Borshchev.
Borshchev delivered a devasting second round knock out to Duncan and it was back to square one for 'The Problem'. One year later and Duncan was given a second crack of the whip, being offered a place on the 2022 Contender Series. After being heavily rocked by Charlie Campbell, Duncan threw a bomb of a right hand which knocked Campbell out cold and earned Duncan his UFC contract.
This will be Duncan’s first international assignment with the UFC, having competed in London in both of his previous promotional bouts.
‘The Problem’ racked up valuable cage time in 2023 with decision victories over Omar Morales and Yanal Ashmouz.
It was a much smoother ride for Torres when he faced Kolton Englund on the 2021 season. After Torres utilised his extensive reach advantage, Englund pushed the bout against the fence. As the two broke from the clinch, it appeared Englund may have been caught in the eye. The referee did not stop it and Torres bounded forward and secured the finish.
Although only competing once a year since signing. Torres has racked up 2 first round finishes under the UFC banner, with wins over Frank Camacho & Nikolas Motta. Torres will no doubt be looking to make a big statement in his homecoming bout.
With 17 stoppages between them, fans inside the Arena CDMX could be in for a big treat when the two lightweights meet.
