JOE DUFFY, one of the few to have beaten Conor McGregor inside the Octagon, has retired after defeat on UFC Fight Island.
The 32-year-old lightweight tapped to a guillotine choke in the first against Joel Alvarez earlier today in the Middle East.
That was his third-straight setback after losses against James Vick and Marc Diakiese, and now he has decided to hang up his gloves after “falling to pieces” in his final fight.
“Irish Joe” confirmed the news on Instagram, saying: “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.
“Thank you all so much for all your messages of support all week.
“I have been blessed on this journey in MMA and am truly grateful for every experience.
Thank you all so much for all your messages of support all week. 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 ??
A post shared byJoe Duffy (@duffymma) on
“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.”
Duffy finishes with a 16-5 record with 14 of those wins coming via stoppage.
Fellow countryman McGregor has only lost four times in his MMA career, and one of those came when he submitted to Duffy’s arm-triangle choke in Cage Warriors back in 2010.
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Artemij Sitenkov inflicted the first of McGregor's defeats in 2008, via kneebar.
UFC superstars Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov then followed him and Duffy, both submitting Notorious courtesy of a rear-naked choke and neck crank respectively.
Duffy had eight fights in total for UFC (4-4), winning his first two before a defeat to Dustin Poirier.
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