Todd Duffee

Todd Duffee (born December 6, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW).

He trains predominantly with the Combat Sports Academy and the American Kickboxing Academy in California.

Duffee has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Super Fight League in India, Jungle Fight in Brazil, and Dynamite!! 2010 in Japan.

In addition to his mixed martial arts career he had a role in the 2010 film Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown as well as minor roles in both film and television.

Duffee has also appeared on the front cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

Duffee was born in Evansville, Indiana, but grew up in Raleigh, Illinois, and Eldorado as the third son of a coal miner father and nurse mother.

Duffee played many sports growing up, including baseball, football, track, bull riding, soccer, and basketball.

Duffee also began training in boxing but was not very devoted to it as he was playing other sports.

A standout football player, he was signed on to play college football but his career was derailed from an injury.

Duffee then moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was 18 years old and continued boxing, before watching a UFC event and shifting his training to mixed martial arts.

He was working on a degree from the University of Georgia before transferring to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, then dropping out to train mixed martial arts full-time.

Duffee was expected to face Jon Madsen on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121, but Duffee was once again forced off the card due to injury and replaced by Gilbert Yvel.

On September 7, 2010, Duffee was surprisingly released from the UFC for unknown reasons.

It is rumored that Duffee requested financial aid in order to pay for a knee surgery which he couldn't afford, but when UFC said that he must pay for it himself there was a dispute between the two parties.

Duffee spoke publicly about MMA fighters being underpaid and how he needed to take a second job just to pay for his training.

Dana White later said in an interview with Ariel Helwani that Duffee had an attitude problem and that it seemed to him that "he doesn't want to be in the UFC, he doesn't like being in the UFC."

He also said that he could work his way back into the organization via fighting in smaller leagues.

Following his release Duffee said that he couldn't understand his release and has never been told why, although he harbors no bitterness toward the UFC president or the company.

After his release from the UFC, Duffee Went to DREAM, a promotion based out of Japan.

Being unable to secure an opponent for former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem in DREAM's first Heavyweight Championship bout at Dynamite!!, Duffee had the manager throw his name in the mix of potentials for the bout.

Less than one week before the event, he was officially named to take on Overeem in the title fight, leaving him very little time to prepare, but an opportunity to fight a big name in the sport.

As the bout started Duffee charged in very aggressively flurrying punches to no avail, but the veteran Overeem stayed calm and landed a knee that rocked Duffee, followed by punches that put him out cold at 19 seconds of the first round.

Duffee said after the fight that he respected Overeem's ability but felt that if he had sufficient time to train and prepare that it would have been a completely different outcome.

As of February 2016, he is pursuing a degree in business from the University of Georgia.

Duffee won his first three fights against Mike Walbright, Mark Haniger and Josh Bennett.

Duffee then agreed to fight UFC and PRIDE FC veteran, Assuério Silva in the main event of Jungle Fights 11.

Duffee dominated the fight and won by knockout in the second round.

Duffee was set to make his UFC debut against Mostapha al-Turk at UFC 99 until the UFC pulled Duffee from the fight.

Duffee was replaced by Mirko Filipović.

He was next announced by the UFC to face fellow UFC newcomer Mike Russow.

However, Duffee was then pulled from that match and instead was matched up against Tim Hague at UFC 102.

Duffee set the record for the fastest KO in UFC heavyweight history (0:07) after flooring Hague with a stiff jab and rendering him unconscious with follow-up ground and pound.

After the finish, he celebrated to the camera by saying "That was an appetizer, I want to eat now Dana, let me eat!"

Duffee was expected to face Paul Buentello at UFC 107 but pulled out due to a back injury.

Duffee fought Mike Russow at UFC 114 in which he lost via KO in the third round.

Prior to the fight Duffee went on record to say that he was being overhyped by the MMA world, while his opponent was very much underrated.

After dominating the first two rounds by utilizing his boxing, Duffee looked to be on his way to a unanimous decision win, when, from out of nowhere, Russow caught Duffee with two straight right hands followed by a hammerfist that prompted the referee to stop the fight as Duffee laid unconscious on the canvas.

Joe Rogan stated that the nature of the knockout was "like something out of a movie" and was "one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history".

Russow broke his left ulna while deflecting Duffee's punches at the end of round 1.

After the fight it was revealed that Duffee fought with a torn MCL as well as Shingles of the eye.