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[Caine2878]

Todd Duffee (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) knew what might be coming, but when word finally reached him that the world's biggest mixed-martial-arts promotion no longer needs his services, the heavyweight didn't know exactly how to react.

After just two fights in the UFC, Duffee's time in the octagon is over.

"I've had every emotion there is to have," Duffee told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) in an exclusive interview. "Right now, I'm just kind of numb."

Duffee burst onto the UFC scene in August 2009 with a stunning seven-second knockout of Tim Hague. A star was born in the blink of an eye, and MMA fans were already declaring the chiseled monster The Next Big Thing.

But on Tuesday, he became just the next fighter released by the UFC. Official reason? Duffee said his walking papers cite a May loss to Mike Russow in which Duffee dominated for two-and-a-half rounds before being clipped by a right hand that ended his night in shocking and upset fashion.

"I don't know what happened," Duffee told MMAjunkie.com from the hotel room in Denver that he is currently calling home. "I first heard from my manager, Alex Davis, about a week ago that I might get cut. I have some friends that fight for other organizations, and they actually told me they had heard a rumor that I was about to be released, too.

"On Tuesday, I got the confirmation email saying I had been cut because I lost my last fight."

"As a man, you just want to hear why"

The UFC releasing fighters after a loss is nothing new. In an effort to bring the world's best fighters to the organization, UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva are forced constantly to reevaluate the bulging roster and hire and fire as they see fit.

But to cut Duffee after just one loss breaks completely from typical form. And to do so more than three months after the fight? Surely something more must be in play.

MMA pundits have speculated that a contract dispute may have played a role. After all, Duffee openly petitioned on The Underground, a popular MMA forum, for a weekend job to help supplement his income.

Not so, says Duffee. He had two fights remaining on his deal and was content with the contract he signed.

Then how about the remarks made on Twitter, when Duffee condemned the UFC for their choice to discuss his past as a Dairy Queen employee?

All forgiven, says Duffee. Besides, he was never all that upset anyway, and that situation played out prior to his contest with Russow.

No, Duffee says he's not sure what may have influenced the UFC's choice, and that may be part of the reason it stings so much.

"Emotionally, I'm hurt," Duffee said. "I'm hurt more than anything because I don't know why. As a man, you just want to hear why so you can understand."

Duffee was approached by the UFC about fighting Jon Madsen in October, but he asked the promotion to push back the contest so he could nurse a few lingering injuries. However, he doesn't believe the release is a direct result of his request.

"They had talked about me fighting Madsen," Duffee said. "I asked if I could get some time.

"I had a knee injury going into the Russow fight. I'm not making any excuses because I lost that fight, and all props to Mike, but I definitely feel like it affected my gameplan and my mentality going into the fight. I didn't want that to happen again with Madsen. I wanted to be able to go out there and fight to my full potential instead of just boxing, basically. I asked for more time, and as far as I knew, they had granted it to me."

Unfortunately for Duffee, that time off is now indefinite.

MMAjunkie.com's request for comment from UFC officials went unanswered.

"I think the best is yet to come"

The 24-year-old isn't quite sure what comes next. He's in Denver in order to train with the famed Grudge Training Center crew, and he hopes to remain a part of the team. But for now, there is much uncertainty. Duffee dropped out of school to pursue his dreams of fighting, so returning to the classroom may even be an option.

"I still want to finish my degree," Duffee said. "I'd like to do it when I'm 35 and I'm walking around with a cane, but I may go back to school and take student loans out and try to be a student and a part-time fighter. I'm not sure.

"The one thing I know is that I want to fight as much as possible. I've just got to get healthy in the next month or two, and hopefully I can get busy in November or December."

Duffee likely will be suited by a host of MMA promotions, and he's certainly willing to listen. But he does hold out hope that a few wins outside of the UFC could earn him a return trip to the octagon.

"If I get 12 fights next year, I'm happy," Duffee said. "I'll settle for six. That will almost double the amount of pro fights I have right now. That's my goal. Maybe I rattle off three more wins real quick, and the UFC changes their mind and decides to re-sign me.

"I've just got to worry about getting healthy. I want to get fully healed, and then I'd like to fight once a month next year. I look at guys like (Strikeforce heavyweight) Daniel Cormier, and I think it's awesome. He fought three times in three weeks, and he won all three of them. I would love to go on a tear."

To call a UFC release a major setback would be a gross understatement. But Duffee has learned to deal with adversity in recent times.

"I've lost a lot of things this year," Duffee said. "I went from losing the biggest fight of my life to losing my dad two weeks later to losing my best friend a week after that. I lost a coach, and now I've lost my job. At this point, it isn't the worst thing that could ever happen to me. There are people who would kill to be in my situation, and I just have to stay positive and keep moving forward – tuck your chin and keep moving forward.

"I think the best is yet to come. I think this is a part of it, and we'll just kind of see what happens. In five or six years we may just look back and laughing about this. That's my goal."

In the meantime, Duffee will just try to enjoy the ride.

"I guess I can say I shouldn't have dropped out of college – stay in school, kids," Dufee joked. "This is my dream. It's just a bump in the road. I got to where I was at a little sooner that a lot of people. Now I have to go enjoy the journey. I definitely would like to get back the opportunity that I had in front of me just a few days ago. We'll just see where the road takes me.

"I know the UFC is running a business, and they're going to do what's best for them at the end of the day. I'm not going to harbor any hard feelings or anything like that. I'm just going to roll with punches. It's been a year of a lot of tough losses, but I think you grow from that. It's been a good run of bad luck. I'm just trying to stay positive and learn from these life experiences."

Todd Duffee: UFC release caps off "good run of bad luck" | MMAjunkie.com

[Qball1974]

are you daft? is so been posted lol

[Caine2878]

Originally Posted by Qball1974

are you daft? is so been posted lol

The announcement of the release was posted. I didn't see Todd Duffee's comments on the release posted anywhere. Are you daft?

Did you even read the article? Or just saw Todd Duffe and the word release and automatically assume it was the same thing?

[mma #1 fan]

i can read can you cause they r not the same ? you may want to read it before you call some one out . just a thought. lol lol

[Caine2878]

Originally Posted by mma #1 fan

i can read can you cause they r not the same ? you may want to read it before you call some one out . just a thought. lol lol

Right he didn't even attempt to read it just thought he'd be the first to try to flame me I guess lol.

[dimerules28]

Lol i used to work at Dairy Queen like 3 years ago. Me and the girl I was trainig got fired for having sex in the walk in fridge. So worth it.

[thefirm0]

Originally Posted by dimerules28

Lol i used to work at Dairy Queen like 3 years ago. Me and the girl I was trainig got fired for having sex in the walk in fridge. So worth it.

your a liar.

[dimerules28]

Originally Posted by thefirm0

your a liar.

Lol I know its hard to believe but some of us on here actually have lives outside the internet.

[Rocky>Fedor]

LOL a war between forum members, hopefully it will be funny.
I will buy some popcorn

[mmawolverine]

dude if you did you da man, cause im pretty sure i could not perform if my seamen were freezing did you atleast leave the door open anyway for doffe this might actually be a blessing in disguise i think he needs to work on the cardio alittle and he probably should have taken the madsen fight but what done is done no sex in the champagne room but the freezer is where its at