The Mac
07-12-2010, 02:52 AM
Following two dominating rounds against Mike Russow at UFC 114, UFC heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee appeared on his way to back-to-back to UFC wins and a perfect 7-0 pro record.
Russow, though, scored a stunning comeback knockout at the May event, and Duffee is trying to move on.
But whatever you do, don't tell the 6-foot-3, 255-pound slugger that he's now a better fighter because of the lost.
After all, as Duffee recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), he doesn't need a defeat to improve his understanding of the fight game.
"I could have learned all those lessons and won that fight," said Duffee, who dominated 13 minutes of the bout until Russow connected on a perfectly placed right hand that prompted the TKO stoppage. "My boxing coach, James Gifford – he's one of the best in town – he left, he walked out of the room, and he walked back in, and he goes, 'Damn it.' He said, 'I'd like to say we learned something, but we could have learned all that and still won."
Duffee, who made a grand UFC debut in 2009 after stopping Tim Hague in a UFC record seven seconds, said another aspect of the loss compounded his misery. While many fighters don't even remember the big shot that put them to sleep – after all, how many have jolted awake only to ask what happened – Duffee saw the whole upset unfold before his eyes.
"The worst part about that knockout was that I was awake the whole time," he said. "I flashed when I hit the ground, but I flashed so fast that I really didn't miss a beat. I missed maybe half a second. I could see him coming. I could see the ref coming. I could see everything. I actually put my hand and stopped the ref and said, 'I'm fine.' I was like, 'I can't believe that just happened.'"
Referee Josh Rosenthal, though, had seen enough and halted the action at the 2:35 mark of the final round.
Now with nearly two months to reflect on the loss, Duffee really hasn't seen any positives? There's not something he can take away from the defeat? Wasn't it a learning experience just to deal with a pro loss for the first time?
"Not, it's not," said Duffee, sounding like a guy who's already answered this question more times than he wanted to. "I'm so tired of hearing that. You know what a learning experience is? When you didn't get something you wanted. That's what a supposed learning experience is."
Duffee, though, has taken his lumps. He knows MMA fans can be a fickle bunch. And as a self-described fight fan in his own right, he was prepared for the inevitable criticism.
Early in his career, one of his peers warned him about the potential perils of being a fighter and a fan.
"Jorge Santiago, one time he saw me messing around on the Internet (looking at MMA websites)," Duffee joked. "He said, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.' I was like, 'Why?' He was like, 'It's bad for you mind.'
"I think that's a reason a lot of guys say that (they aren't fans). I know most fighters pay attention to the fights. Maybe some of these guys aren't fans, though. They're fans of the lifestyle or something like that."
Russow, though, scored a stunning comeback knockout at the May event, and Duffee is trying to move on.
But whatever you do, don't tell the 6-foot-3, 255-pound slugger that he's now a better fighter because of the lost.
After all, as Duffee recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), he doesn't need a defeat to improve his understanding of the fight game.
"I could have learned all those lessons and won that fight," said Duffee, who dominated 13 minutes of the bout until Russow connected on a perfectly placed right hand that prompted the TKO stoppage. "My boxing coach, James Gifford – he's one of the best in town – he left, he walked out of the room, and he walked back in, and he goes, 'Damn it.' He said, 'I'd like to say we learned something, but we could have learned all that and still won."
Duffee, who made a grand UFC debut in 2009 after stopping Tim Hague in a UFC record seven seconds, said another aspect of the loss compounded his misery. While many fighters don't even remember the big shot that put them to sleep – after all, how many have jolted awake only to ask what happened – Duffee saw the whole upset unfold before his eyes.
"The worst part about that knockout was that I was awake the whole time," he said. "I flashed when I hit the ground, but I flashed so fast that I really didn't miss a beat. I missed maybe half a second. I could see him coming. I could see the ref coming. I could see everything. I actually put my hand and stopped the ref and said, 'I'm fine.' I was like, 'I can't believe that just happened.'"
Referee Josh Rosenthal, though, had seen enough and halted the action at the 2:35 mark of the final round.
Now with nearly two months to reflect on the loss, Duffee really hasn't seen any positives? There's not something he can take away from the defeat? Wasn't it a learning experience just to deal with a pro loss for the first time?
"Not, it's not," said Duffee, sounding like a guy who's already answered this question more times than he wanted to. "I'm so tired of hearing that. You know what a learning experience is? When you didn't get something you wanted. That's what a supposed learning experience is."
Duffee, though, has taken his lumps. He knows MMA fans can be a fickle bunch. And as a self-described fight fan in his own right, he was prepared for the inevitable criticism.
Early in his career, one of his peers warned him about the potential perils of being a fighter and a fan.
"Jorge Santiago, one time he saw me messing around on the Internet (looking at MMA websites)," Duffee joked. "He said, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.' I was like, 'Why?' He was like, 'It's bad for you mind.'
"I think that's a reason a lot of guys say that (they aren't fans). I know most fighters pay attention to the fights. Maybe some of these guys aren't fans, though. They're fans of the lifestyle or something like that."