Well, his power certainly didn’t go anywhere.
Saturday night at UFC 155, heavyweight Todd Duffee landed a barrage of heavy right hands and uppercuts to defeat Brit Philip De Fries by TKO at 2:04 of Round 1.
For Duffee (8-2), this marked a somewhat surprising return to the UFC after an unceremonious dismissal in 2010. Duffee got the call to face De Fries (9-2-1) after a card shuffle that sent original opponent Matt Mitrione to the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale to fight Roy Nelson in place of an injured Shane Carwin.
Known largely for a seven-second knockout win in his UFC debut, Duffee worked through an early De Fries takedown and put the British submission grappler on roller skates with a straight right.
He immediately followed up with overhand rights and uppercuts as De Fries covered up, but Duffee repeatedly found his target and earned the stoppage, punctuating his attack by dropping De Fries with a final uppercut.
“Two years is a long time. I’m happy to be back,” Duffee told broadcaster Joe Rogan in a post-fight interview aired during the telecast. “It’s awesome. I heard [my corner] shouting ‘right hand, right hand, right hand,’ so I just kept throwing it.”
What we’ll remember about this fight:
The Duffman lives! Something of a cult figure in MMA circles, Duffee’s trademark power and Terminator physique were on full display Saturday night. It’s good to have him back.
What we learned about Todd Duffee:
He can still be a viable fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
What we learned about Philip De Fries:
If it wasn’t before, De Fries’ chin is now officially on the Suspect List. Both of his two career losses came by T/KO.
What’s next for Duffee:
A Duffee-Pat Barry pairing would make an exciting addition to any cable lineup.
What’s next for De Fries:
The journeyman is now 2-2 in the Octagon. He’s never won or lost consecutive matches. I’d give him Shane Del Rosario next. If Del Rosario can’t beat De Fries, that could be the end for the once-ballyhooed heavyweight.
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