USA TODAY Sports
UFC Heavyweight Todd Duffee speaks to the press after his successful UFC return at UFC 155 on December 29.
UFC Heavyweight Todd Duffee returned to the UFC with a Knock Out of the Night winning performance against Phil De Fries at UFC 155. He'd been lost in the wilderness for over two years following his KO loss to Mike Russow and a subsequent ill-advised foray to social media to complain about the UFC's medical care policies.
Duffee spoke to Sherdog about his status as the prodigal Heavyweight:
"The big thing, I think, [about] this time away was it hurt my development. I think I could have improved a lot more in the last two years had I not been dealing with some of the situations I had.
"I was at the point financially that the efforts I was putting in, it wasn't paying off. It didn't make a lot of sense. You start feeling stupid after a certain amount of time, like how delusional am I? But it did pay off, and I'm excited that I've got things back on track.
"In my career it's been pretty evident that I've seen some of the absolute highs of the highs of this sport and I've also seen some of the lows of the lows. That's everybody in this sport. If they stick around long enough and they really stick through it, that stuff's going to happen. To sum it up, it's been a roller coaster, but I've still found a way to really truly enjoy it."
He also spoke to MMA Weekly about what he would have done if the UFC hadn't called him back as a late replacement for Matt Mitrione:
I was getting ready to sign a kickboxing contract the next day (when the UFC called) and start traveling to Thailand and Holland. So it gave me a chance to do what I love. I love MMA; I like kickboxing. It was a huge saving grace for me."
It will be very interesting to watch how Duffee develops now that he's training at the American Kickboxing Academy with HW champ Cain Velasquez, Strikeforce champ Daniel Cormier and the rest of the crew in San Jose.
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