Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Jeff Hughes and Todd Duffee faced each other in a Heavyweight clash today (Sat., Sept. 14, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 158 inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, only on ESPN+. It was a lot of fun to watch, but unfortunately an eye poke ended the contest early.
Duffee opened the fight with a big charge, landing a hard right hand against the fence. Surprisingly, Duffee then ducked into a double leg along the fence, tripping his foe to the mat. Hughes popped back up and avoided a guillotine choke/snap down. With Hughes’ back to the fence, Duffee advanced, but Hughes landed a pair of big right hands. Duffee continued to push forward, however, landing in the clinch once more. Another exchange along the fence saw Hughes clip his foe twice with a left hook, but Duffee returned the favor by rocking him a moment later. A hurt Hughes initiated a wrestling exchange, but nothing came of it for either man. Duffee’s face bled a bit. A left high kick from Hughes landed fairly well, but it prompted Duffee to flurry wildly and hurt Hughes once again! Hughes went down for a moment, but he stood back up and fired back, a crazy exchange that saw both men trading power shots along the fence.
Somehow, both were standing at the end of the brawl. Unfortunately, an eye poke in the clinch afterward brought about a sudden end to the contest, as Duffee told the ringside doctor’s that he was “seeing double.” It’s an unfortunate ending for both — Duffee was landing the harder shots, but Hughes had also survived his foe’s best work and was still firing.
Hopefully, Duffee will return to the cage for a rematch without another four+ year layoff.
Result: The fight was declared a “No Contest”
For complete UFC Fight Night 158: “Gaethje vs. Cerrone” results and play-by-play, click HERE!