Despite no Conor McGregor this time around, UFC 217 in New York City this November will have Irish fans represented. This time, it’s Joe Duffy who will appear on the card, taking on James Vick in a key lightweight bout. Duffy was for a long time known as the last man to beat McGregor, until Nate Diaz came around. The UFC announced the news Monday.
Duffy (17-2) is fresh off a win against Reza Madadi in March, in what was the final fight on his UFC contract. He re-signed with the promotion over the Summer, citing the UFC’s drug testing policy (via the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) among the reasons. Duffy is 4-1 in the promotion to date, and a win against Vick would put him on a three fight win streak at lightweight.
Meeting Irish Joe Duffy in the cage at Madison Square Garden will be Ultimate Fighter veteran 155lb’er James Vick. Since appearing on the show in 2012 and making it to the semi-finals, Vick has fought exclusively for the UFC, going 7-1 in that stretch. His lone loss came to Beneil Dariush at UFC 199. Heading into UFC 217, Vick is on a two-fight win streak with victories over Abel Trujillo and Marco Polo Reyes.
UFC 217 takes place November 4 at Madison Square Garden.
