Joseph Duffy is calling it a career after 21 professional MMA bouts.
The 32-year-old Irishman took to Instagram to announce his decision following a first-round submission loss to Joel Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 172 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. It was Duffy’s third consecutive defeat within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
“Thank you all so much for all your messages of support all week. I have been blessed on this journey in MMA and am truly grateful for every experience,” Duffy wrote. “I felt great all through camp and even warming up. I believed I was back to my former self then when I went in there it just falls to pieces.
“I think it’s time to realize that I haven’t got what it takes any more. Congrats to Joel Alvarez and thank you to the UFC for all the opportunities. I’m sorry I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve for my fans, family, friends and myself but it just wasn’t meant to be. I am officially retiring from MMA competition.”
Duffy ends his career with a 16-5 career mark. He notably submitted former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor with an arm-triangle 38 seconds into their bout at Cage Warriors 39 in November 2010. After a lengthy stint in Cage Warriors, Duffy would go 4-4 in UFC competition, earning victories over Jake Lindsey, Ivan Jorge, Mitch Clarke and Reza Madadi.
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