Todd Duffee called out fellow UFC heavyweight Frank Mir for a fight and it looks like he might get his wish.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is used to fighting ranked opponents regardless of whether or not he's coming off a win, but it looks like that run may come to an end. According to a report from UFC Tonight's Ariel Helwani, matchmaker Joe Silva is planning a bout between Mir and Todd Duffee on an undetermined summer event. According to Mir's agent, Malki Kawa, Duffee isn't Mir's "ideal" opponent but he does want to keep an active fighting schedule this year.
Mir (17-9) snapped his 4 fight losing streak with an emphatic 1st round KO of Antonio Silva in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Porto Alegre back in February. The 35-year-old hadn't won a fight since his dramatic submission win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back in 2011. Duffee recently issued a challenge to face Mir, which Mir has evidently accepted.
Duffee (9-2) has won 3 straight fights, including a 34 second stoppage of Neil Grove in the Supa Super Fight League, and a pair of 1st round KOs in the UFC against Phil De Fries and Anthony Hamilton. The 29-year-old was once a highly touted prospect at heavyweight, but on the heels of a 7 second KO of Tim Hague, his hype train was derailed by the almighty hammerfist (and possibly the punch that landed before that) of Mike Russow. Duffee's unceremonious release, in addition to his loss to Alistair Overeem and his Parsonage Turner Syndrome diagnosis in 2013 seemingly made him an afterthought in the sport, but it appears he now has a big chance to re-ignite fan interest again with the targeted Mir showdown.
Having scanned the summer lineup, given Duffee's ties to Illinois, it's quite possible that the UFC books Mir vs. Duffee on the July Fox card in Chicago for a local to support. Keep in mind though that there are 6 scheduled cards in July alone, so there are plenty of options available.
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