Todd Duffee was gone from the sport for four years, he returned to have a no-contest against Jeff Hughes following a controversial eye poke.
Although he’s fought in the UFC several times between 2009 and 2015, Todd Duffee has only stepped inside the Octagon five times. In those five fights, only one bout has gone past the first round. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Duffee fight, with his most recent bout coming against Frank Mir in 2015. In that fight, Duffee was knocked out in the first round. Now, after overcoming a series of serious injuries, the 33-year-old Duffee is back.
Welcoming Duffee back to the UFC is relative newcomer Jeff Hughes. The 31-year-old is 10-2 in his career, going 2-0 in LFA before securing the first-round finish on the Dana White Contender Series in 2018. In his promotional debut in March, Hughes lost a split decision to Maurice Greene, who he’d previously defeated in LFA. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak, which Hughes looked to re-start at UFC Vancouver.
Round 1: Duffee came out quickly and shot for the takedown. Hughes would recover and the two would trade against the fence, with both landing haymakers. The two would clinch against the fence, but Duffee would separate and land a giant shot that would drop Hughes. Hughes would recover but Duffee would land even more shots that seemed to put Hughes nearly out of the fight. However, Hughes would separate, and poke Duffee in the eyes in the process. Duffee would tell the referee that he was seeing double, and after a long discussion, the fight would be called off. The fight would be ruled a no-contest by the referee afterward.
Todd Duffee gets poked in the eye and says he's seeing dbl. Fight's over. #UFCVancouver pic.twitter.com/NH4Bqgo6Zp
— ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho) September 15, 2019
After four years gone from the sport, Todd Duffee would return to dominate, then get poked in the eyes. What a return it was.
Result: Todd Duffee vs Jeff Hughes (No Contest)
