Joe Duffy claimed his former victim Conor McGregor has nothing left to prove ahead of the Tristar man’s UFC Fight Night Glasgow battle on Saturday with Ivan Jorge.
Lightweight Duffy, 27, submitted his compatriot in 2010, way before McGregor was the same star who won the interim featherweight title against Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
“Conor’s answered all the questions,” said “Irish” Joe. “I don’t think there’s much more he can do. He fought one of the best wrestlers in the world in Mendes and he got the stoppage as well, so it was a performance that people needed to see.
Duffy, with 8 tapouts on his 13-1 record, even threw his own name into the hat to face McGregor once Jose Aldo pulled out.
“I thought there was no harm putting my name forward. The only thing is I think the UFC had the big plan for Mendes and McGregor to go at it. That was a big fight.”
Fighting out of Donegal, Duffy got his UFC career off to a flier in March when he stopped Jake Lindsey in round one with punches to the body.
Still, Jorge, 34, boasts strong jiu-jitsu and will be looking to build on his February decision over Josh Shockley.
Duffy believes his stint in Montreal, Canada training with Firas Zahabi has brought his striking on leaps and bounds ahead of his next tough test.
“Zahabi is wise beyond his years and he studies the game so closely. That’s why I think he’s the best trainer in the world.
“I already know plenty about footwork, defence and how to work this into all aspects of MMA, but I’m lucky to work with a guy like Firas and I can’t tell you how awesome it is.
“He pushes you hard every day in the gym, and just being with that level of training partners, you learn a lot and you gain moves quickly.”
By Ally Hendrie
