Todd Duffee speaks out about release from UFC
Just a day after rising mixed martial arts heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee was released from the Ultimate Fighting Championships, the world’s largest MMA promotion, he spoke to MMA Junkie about his release.
Duffee being cut came as a surprise to the MMA world because of his stature. Though he’s coming off a loss, at 24 he looked to be one of the most physically gifted fighters to be rising through the ranks - exactly the kind of fighter the UFC would want to hold on to. But when he pulled out of a fight against Jon Madsen set in October, according to Duffee, that was enough.
"They had talked about me fighting Madsen," Duffee said. "I asked if I could get some time.”
In his last fight against Russow, he was dominating until he lost by a shocking third-round TKO. He suggested he wasn’t fully fit going into that fight, and didn’t want to make the same mistake against Madsen.
"I had a knee injury going into the Russow fight. I'm not making any excuses because I lost that fight, and all props to Mike, but I definitely feel like it affected my game plan and my mentality going into the fight. I didn't want that to happen again with Madsen. I wanted to be able to go out there and fight to my full potential instead of just boxing, basically. I asked for more time, and as far as I knew, they had granted it to me,” said Russow.
The UFC evidently saw it differently, although with the UFC staying silent on the matter it’s difficult to say where the truth lies. For his part Duffee says he’ll want to get a couple of wins outside the UFC before he gains his chance to return to the promotion.
It is also possible his release is being used as a kind of negotiating tactic by the UFC. In 2008, welterweight star Jon Fitch refused to sign a contract with the UFC, giving over his lifetime likeness rights to the UFC to be used in a video game. In retaliation, the UFC released him, until Fitch eventually opted to sign the contract, less than 24 hours after his release.
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