Perhaps the hardest part about his absence from the Octagon for the past 15 months is that Duffy had just inked a new multi-fight contract with the UFC and he wanted nothing more than to stay active as he attempted to climb up the lightweight rankings.
Instead, he suffered a staggering defeat to Vick and then spent more than a year on the shelf just waiting for his body to allow him to return.
“It’s something I’ve said, when I signed my new contract I wanted to be active,” Duffy explained. “When I went back to training after the [James] Vick fight, my shoulder was just that bad and it was time I needed to get surgery done.
“Then just when I thought I was just about to get going, I could finish the year with at least one fight and then roll into this year with a little bit of momentum but then obviously the rib injury.”
As much as sitting on a loss for over a year bugged him, Duffy says nothing felt worse than not being able to revel in the feeling he gets from actually stepping foot in that Octagon and doing battle with an opponent.
From the walk to the Octagon to the moment when that cage door closes, Duffy missed everything that’s involved with a fight in the UFC and he can’t wait to stand across from Diakiese on Saturday night.
“I can’t wait to just be in the Octagon and experience it all,” Duffy said. “It makes you appreciate how much you enjoy being in there and absorbing it all in. That’s one thing I want to do going into this fight is I want to enjoy every second of it.”
While he would have happily faced anybody put in his path in his return to action, Duffy anticipates a real crowd-pleasing affair by taking on a fighter like Diakiese.
In his first three fights in the UFC, Diakiese put together a dazzling resume highlighted by a pair of knockout wins that also earned him a Performance of the Night bonus along the way.
Unfortunately, Diakiese has suffered through some growing pains lately with three straight losses in the UFC leading into this fight, but Duffy believes that only makes him that much more of a threat.
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