"I don't give a damn about a title dude, I really don't. The only reason I think anyone wants a title, and I agree with them because it would be the same for me, but this sport is about matchups. It's not about getting a title. Title holders aren't going to hold a title forever. This isn't like boxing. Somebody's going to find your kryptonite. This sport is about good matchups and good fights to me and that's what I want," stated UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee as he talked about his future plans after his record seven-second knockout victory at UFC 102. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on the big knockout victory at UFC 102.
TD: Thanks man, I appreciate it.
PC: it's not often someone not only gets a win in their UFC debut, but to score a record knockout in your first fight in the organization is crazy. How has life changed since my man?
TD: I wouldn't say that my life has really changed. I just think it may have opened up some doors for me that wouldn't have opened up if I hadn't knocked him out so fast. But I'm still the same person. Too much hasn't really changed for me, but like I said, more opportunities.
PC: Could you have dreamed up a better debut than the one you had at UFC 102?
TD: No. It's funny you say that because me and my brother was talking about that and he was like, "Man, Marquardt should have took his time and knocked him out later in the fight and you would have gotten Knockout of the Night!" But I was like, "Man, I couldn't have asked for a better debut. It was perfect."
PC: Your jab pretty much put him out. Were you shocked by that or is that just a testament to how hard you are hitting?
TD: I was a little surprised because Hague can take a shot dude. At first, I thought he may have just been a little off balance, but then I saw he was fading. That's when I jumped on him and landed a few shots. He opened his eyes and realized what was going on. He was like, "Shit!" But it was too late by then. I landed some clean-up shots and that was it. But it did surprise me that my jab hurt him that bad, only because I know he can take a shot. We're heavyweight's man. We're all hitting hard. We all have that power and the ability to end a fight with one punch.
PC: A lot of people may think you came out of nowhere, but you've been at American Top Team putting in work for a while now.
TD: Yeah man. I don't have the amount of fights that I should have because I've had a lot of fights fall through. I have had a lot of guys pull out or they just couldn't find an opponent for me. The big name guys didn't want to fight me because I was a nobody, but I was a threat. And the smaller name fighters didn't want to fight because they knew they were overmatched. My record doesn't show how long and what level I've been training at. I've been with ATT for about the last 3 to 4 years, but I'm still with Hardcore Gym. I go back and forth. I originally started at Hardcore Gym. I've been training full time for the last 3 or 4 years. And even when I first started 5 years ago, it was pretty much full time because it was every day. I wouldn't say it was full time though because I wasn't getting proper training. I was getting in the garage kind of deal (laughing)! But I was still training hard. I thought I would hit people's radar when I went down and beat Assuerio, but apparently not. I know a lot of people were counting me out of the Hague fight. I don't think this is any bigger than me beating Assuerio a year ago. I think it put me kind of in the same spot, but the outcome kind of got blown up because it was so fast.
PC: You could never complain about a 7-second knockout, but are you now anxious to show the UFC fans that you are more than a big puncher and show some of your other skills?
TD: Yeah, definitely. It is very frustrating because guysÂ…and I'm with them and it's really unwarranted right now because you cannot judge Tim Hague or me, Todd Duffee, I like to refer to myself in 3rd person, sorry, but you can't judge him or Todd on a 7-second performance. It was just one of those things. Am I happy that I'm getting hype? Yeah because it's going to help build my career, but I would like to show that I'm more than just that. I'd like to show my wrestling, I'd like to show my ground skills, my clinch game and I would like to show that I am a legitimate striker. Tim Hague hurt my feelings when he made the statement and Tim Hague, and I'm sure that the rest of the world, was thinking that Patrick Barry was a greater striker than me. I didn't feel that way. I want to show the world that I have high-level striking, high-level grappling and high-level wrestling, you know? Of course it's either people are blown away by the 7 seconds or they are completely turned off by me because of that hype. I want people to respect me as a real fighter, not that I'm some knockout power punch guy. I got cardio and I got game and I want to show that.
PC: You took absolutely no damage in that fight. When would you like to get back in there?
TD: Man, with my record, I need to build it. I need to fight as much as possible. I've had periods where I didn't fight for a full year just because I've had fights fall out so consistently. Now I want to build my record. I wouldn't say it was a shame or anything like that, but I wish I had more fights on my record. People have to understand that I am legitimate. I didn't start this a year ago. I didn't start this 2 years ago. I started 5 years ago and I want people to know that I am a legitimate martial artist and not just an athletic guy that tried this out and was good at it. I've been working hard at this for a while.
PC: Any time a big guy comes into the UFC now, you will get the Lesnar questions. I know you don't want that fight right now, but what caliber of opponent would you like to fight next?
TD: Just someone that has been around the block; someone that has fought big names and won. I'm notÂ…I don't give a damn about a title dude, I really don't. The only reason I think anyone wants a title, and I agree with them because it would be the same for me, but this sport is about matchups. It's not about getting a title. Title holders aren't going to hold a title forever. This isn't like boxing. Somebody's going to find your kryptonite. This sport is about good matchups and good fights to me and that's what I want. There are a lot of heavyweights out there dude. The whole roster is full of guys that I want to fight. I just don't want gimmie fights. I don't want them to bring in some guy just for me to beat up. I've worked too hard for that. I can't lie, I do want to fight the upper echelon guys just because I want to fight them. I'm not saying that because I think I deserve to because clearly I haven't got the wins to get me there, but I want to (laughing). Everybody wants to know what they're capable of doing and I think that's why most of us are in this sport.
PC: I look forward to seeing you inside the Octagon again. Is there anything you would like to say in closing?
TD: I just want to thank my sponsors: Born Stronger, XE Sports, American Top Team, Hardcore Gym and IHP (Institute of Human Performance). I'm actually headed there right now.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]