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After a disappointing quick loss at UFC Fight Island 2, Irish lightweight Joe Duffy has called it quits.
Duffy found himself tapping to a guillotine choke two and a half minutes into the first round of his fight against Joel Alvarez, putting him on a three fight losing skid (watch the finish here). Including a year and a half break from active competition, Duffy hadn’t tasted victory since a March 2017 decision over Reza Madadi.
Shortly after leaving the arena on Yaz Island, Duffy took to Instagram to announce his retirement.
“Thank you all so much for all your messages of support all week,” he wrote. “I have been blessed on this journey in MMA and am truly grateful for every experience. I felt great all through camp and even warming up, I believed I was back to my former self then when I went in there it just falls to pieces. I think it’s time to realize that I haven’t got what it takes any more.”
“Congrats to Joel Alvarez and thank you to the UFC for all the opportunities. I’m sorry I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve for my fans, family, friends and myself but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“I am officially retiring from MMA competition.”
Duffy ends his MMA career at 16-5 (4-4 UFC). A staple of the Irish mixed martial arts scene since 2008, Joe amassed a 10-0 streak to start his career that included a submission win over a then unknown local named Conor McGregor in what was McGregor’s sixth pro fight (and second career loss). Duffy took that one via an arm triangle choke just 38 seconds into the first round.
Duffy capitalized on his popularity on the Irish fight circuit and only ended up joining to UFC in 2015, where he started with two strong wins before running into a surging Dustin Poirier in 2016. That ended any chance of a rematch with McGregor, and from there Duffy struggled to stay healthy with a shoulder injury and never regained the momentum he arrived in the UFC with.