Two of the UFC’s fastest rising lightweight contenders are set to clash at UFC 217, which goes down this November 4 inside New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden. In one corner, we’ll have Irish Tristar student Joe Duffy. In the other, we’ll have”The Texecutioner” James Vick.
This bout was announced by UFC officials on Monday morning.
Duffy, who recently inked a new deal with the UFC after a brief contract dispute, will enter this fight on a two-fight streak. In his two most recent bouts, he has defeated Mitch Clarke by submission, and Reza Madadi by unanimous decision. His most recent loss occurred in January of 2016 when he was out-hustled by Dustin Poirier.
The ever-dangerous Vick, meanwhile, is also riding high on two-straight wins, having recently defeated Marco Polo Reyes with a first-round TKO, and Abel Trujillo by decision. His most recent defeat was a knockout loss to top-10 lightweight Beneil Dariush.
UFC 217 will be topped by a trio of title fights. The first will occur at strawweight, where dominant division queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk will attempt to tie Ronda Rousey‘s six-straight title defenses with a win over Rose Namajunas. The second, which holds the co-main event spot, will occur at bantamweight where champ Cody Garbrandt will attempt to defend his title against former teammate TJ Dillashaw. The third, the evening’s anticipated main event, will occur at middleweight, where champ Michael Bisping will battle returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Other highlights of the stacked UFC 217 lineup include a welterweight scrap between top contenders Jorge Masvidal and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, a middleweight showdown between Johny Hendricks and Paulo Borrachinha, a welterweight battle between Mickey Gall and Randy Brown, and a heavyweight battle between rising contenders Curtis Blaydes and Aleksey Oleynik.
Who do you think wins this newly announced Joe Duffy vs. James Vick lightweight scrap?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/25/2017.