Marc Diakiese Meets Joe Duffy at UFC London
By Keith Turrell
After some social media teasing it was recently confirmed by the UFC that English standout Mark Diakiese (12-3) will meet Irish veteran Joseph Duffy (16-3) at the promotion’s return to London on March 16th.
The event takes place at the O2 Arena and is set to be headlined by a pair of welterweight showdowns; Darren Till taking on Jorge Masvidal in the main event while Leon Edwards faces Gunnar Nelson in the co-main.
Diakiese comes into this fight off the back of three straight losses and will be hoping a hometown crowd and plenty of support will push him back into form. He faces a tough task with Donegal’s Duffy however, the Irishman may not have fought since November 2017 but is widely regarded as a high level striker and trains at the world-class Tri-Star Gym in Montreal, Canada under the tutelage of renowned head coach Firas Zahabi.
His 2017 fight ultimately ended in a TKO loss against James Vick and after a frustrating 2018 where he was unable to make it into the cage he will undoubtedly be looking to bounce back against Diakese in the English capital.
When he first appeared in the UFC Diakiese was regarded as a top prospect and his all action style made him a favourite among fans as he surged to three straight wins. At this point though he’ll be feeling the pressure as a fourth loss in a row is not something usually allowed to slide by the MMA leader, making this fight perhaps the biggest of his career to date.
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