Mixed martial arts fighter Joseph Duffy quickly apologized to Dustin Poirier and his fans via social media when the UFC released a statement about him being out of the UFC Dublin event.
Here’s what he said about the unfortunate incident:
“So sad to announce that I won’t be fighting on Saturday. After a strike to the head in training I had precautionary medical tests which resulted in me being deemed not fit to fight. Obviously I’m absolutely gutted, I really wanted that fight and felt sharp in training. Firstly, a huge apology to Dustin. We have both put in an incredible amount of work to get ready for the fight, he’s a great fighter and I hope I get another chance to face him. Sorry to all my fans, friends and family who were planning to come and see me fight and who have supported me all the way. Although it’s hard to think about anything other than the disappointement right now, I can’t wait to get anotehr fight booked in and hope to be in the octagon as soon as possible.
Good luck to my teammate Tom Breeze, thanks to my camp Tristar and to the UFC. Saturday will still be an amazing night for MMA in Ireland.”
Graham Boylan, Joseph Duffy’s manager, also sent an e-mail to MMAFighting.com and shared what he felt about the incident. Here’s what he had to say:
“Joseph is gutted he’s worked so hard over the past 10 weeks for this but his safety comes first. Could I ask you to inform the MMA press just give Joseph 24 hours to digest the situation and we will talk to you Friday. A big thank you to all the fans for the immediate support on this unfortunate situation.”
Norman Parke said that someone came up to him and asked if he can replace Joseph Duffy on such a short notice. However, contender Dustin Poirier stated that his management and his team didn’t accept the MMA fight deal.