Joe Duffy, 26, debuts in March and brings a 12-1 record to the UFC with him, eight of his wins being by submission and three by KO/TKO.
His last seven fights have been in the highly-respected European organization CageWarriors, which has long been a key platform for producing talent which goes on to find success in the UFC.
Among the CageWarriors graduates who have competed in the UFC with success are Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy and Conor McGregor. As well as his MMA career, Duffy also has experience in professional boxing.
McGregor and Duffy fought in CageWarriors in 2010, resulting in a surprisingly quick submission loss for McGregor. He bounced back in fine style though, going undefeated ever since – thirteen fights – and being the simultaneous featherweight and lightweight champion in CageWarriors before moving to the UFC.
He is now one of the biggest stars in MMA and is set to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title after beating Denis Siver in a one-sided meeting in Boston last night. Duffy went 2-0 in 2014 after returning to competition from a long break which commenced following a loss in October 2011, the only one of his career.
Unless Duffy is at some point motivated to drop to featherweight there is little chance of he and McGregor crossing paths any time soon. Nonetheless, the UFC is using his 2010 win over McGregor heavily in its marketing of Duffy. It is also billing him as part of an “Irish invasion”.
Rocha is 4-1 in his last five. It has not been specified whether the fight will be on the main card or the preliminary card.