THERE WILL BE some rare Irish involvement in a UFC bout when the organisation stages its ‘Fight Island’ series of events in Abu Dhabi next month.
Joseph Duffy (16-4) has been booked to compete at UFC Fight Night 173 on Saturday, 18 July. In his first fight in 16 months, the Donegal lightweight will take on Spain’s Joel Alvarez (16-2).
The fight will form part of a card which will be headlined by a bout for the vacant flyweight title, in which Deiveson Figueirego will face Joseph Benavidez. The main event will be rematch of the February clash that Figueiredo – who missed weight – won via second-round TKO.
Duffy – who was known as the last man to defeat Conor McGregor until Nate Diaz did so – hasn’t been in action since suffering a unanimous-decision loss to Marc Diakiese in March 2019.
After embarking on a 4-1 run in his first five UFC fights, the 32-year-old will be eager to avoid a third straight defeat, having also fallen short against James Vick.
Alvarez debuted in the UFC by losing a unanimous decision to Damir Ismagulov, before rebounding with a second-round TKO of Danilo Belluardo.
The contest will be the first involving an Irishman in the UFC since Conor McGregor’s swift disposal of Donald Cerrone back in January.
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