UFC London continues to add great fights, as lightweight strikers Marc Diakiese and Joe Duffy are in talks to collide in March.
Newsome MMA was the first to report the potential UFC London battle.
Both Joe Duffy and Marc Diakiese joined the UFC with a good bit of hype surrounding them. Both men delivered right away, with four stoppages in their first five fights combined. Since then, however, they are 2-5 and looking to rekindle what they once had cooking.
Joe Duffy was unable to fight in 2018 due to rib injury late in the year and a long layoff stemming from a KO loss to James Vick in November 2017. When he joined the UFC in 2015, he was known as “the last man to defeat Conor McGregor,” which was by arm-triangle in 2010. The hype was justified with electric first-round finishes in his first two promotional appearances, earning him a fight with Dustin Poirier, who was just starting to light up the 155-pound division at the time. Poirier utilized wrestling to defeat Duffy, but he was able to bounce back with a 25-second submission against Mitch Clarke followed by a decision victory. He then ran into James Vick, who knocked out the Irishman in the second round at the buzzer.
Marc Diakiese was undefeated at 9-0 with five stoppages and a BAMMA lightweight title to his name when he joined the biggest promotion in the world. A strong debut performance followed by a decision victory led to his breakout fight, a 30-second knockout against Teemu Packalen. However, he has not been victorious in the three fights since the March 2017 knockout.
UFC London will take place on March 16 inside the O2 Arena in England. The main event is a great welterweight scrap between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal. Also on the card, top light heavyweights Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes throw down, as well as grappling studs Gunnar Nelson and Leon Edwards in the co-main event.
