There are good ways to make a UFC debut, after which there’s what this man did 16 years ago…
UFC 102 took place on at the present time, August 29, in 2009. The event at Rose Garden in Portland was headlined by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win over Randy Couture.
Also on the cardboard were the likes of Keith Jardine and Demian Maia, each of whom were brutally knocked out, in addition to Chris Leben, Brandon Vera, and Gabriel Gonzaga.
But that event is probably best remembered for the debut of a once highly touted heavyweight prospect, who announced his arrival on the worldwide stage with a record-setting knockout that also holds top spot in his division to at the present time.
Todd Duffee flattened Tim Hague just seven seconds into his UFC 102 debut
The UFC 102 prelims featured the primary fight contained in the Octagon for Todd Duffee, an ex-American football player who had transitioned to MMA and began life within the cage with nothing but knockouts. That trend continued in his sixth fight, which marked his first time competing in front of the UFC fans.
Tasked with spoiling Duffee’s debut was former King of the Cage Canada champion Tim Hague. Unfortunately for ‘The Thrashing Machine’, his hopes of doing so got here crashing down almost immediately on fight night.
Just before the fight got underway, Joe Rogan noted on commentary that Hague had offered out his hand but been firmly told to not expect a glove touch once the fight got underway.
“Something really interesting (just happened),” Rogan remarked.
“Tim Hague put his fist out as if to say, ‘Do you must touch gloves?’ Todd Duffee shook his head, ‘No.’”
If that wasn’t evidence enough that the UFC newcomer was locked in, the rapid knockdown that followed did the trick.
A straight jab sent Hague down right away, and Duffee quickly followed his 10-1 opponent to the canvas and put him out in devastating fashion with ground-and-pound strikes. The official time of Duffee’s debut KO was just seven seconds.
Back then, that went down because the fastest finish in UFC history. While Duffee has since been surpassed by Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee against Ben Askren, his debut win stays the quickest stoppage in heavyweight history.
Todd Duffee did not live as much as his promise within the UFC
After an emphatic debut that left him 6-0 in MMA, big things were expected of Duffee on the game’s biggest stage. Unfortunately, the next years didn’t go to plan for the Indiana native.
He would compete just over again during his first stint within the Octagon, falling victim to one in all the best comebacks of all time against Mike Russow. After dominating the primary two rounds, Duffee was shockingly knocked out by Russow within the third after getting caught with two straight right hands.
Duffee was surprisingly then cut from the UFC, leaving him signing with DREAM. Alistair Overeem knocked the American out of their title fight but Duffee soon rebounded and located himself back in MMA’s leading promotion.
Following two victories to announce his return, the American Kickboxing Academy-trained heavyweight was stopped by Frank Mir before a four-year stint on the sidelines. A No Contest against Jeff Hughes marked his final UFC fight and Duffee’s most up-to-date MMA enterprise saw him finished in a single round by Phil De Fries under the KSW banner in 2023.
Duffee appeared in BKFC just last 12 months, losing to Ben Rothwell after sustaining an injury just 43 seconds into the fight.