UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee reveals he has a rare neurological disease

Duffee (photo) hopes to return to active duty in 2014. Photo: Disclosure

Todd Duffee, once considered one of MMA's most promising heavyweights, has an unusual trajectory in the UFC. In his first stint, between 2009 and 2010, he had a moment of glory, achieving one of the fastest knockouts in history over Tim Hague, and, in the next fight, he surprisingly lost a fight he dominated against Mike Russow. After being released, Duffee returned to the UFC two years later, knocking out Phil de Fries in December 2012. And this was his last fight to date.

Duffee's absence from the UFC has sparked questions about his health. The answer came this week, on the “UFC Tonight” program, on the North American television channel FOX Sports. The fighter revealed that he suffers from Parsonage-Turner syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes intense pain and muscle weakness, especially in the shoulder region.

Despite this, Duffee hopes to return to action in 2014. “I'm doing my rehabilitation, unfortunately. I'll try to be smart. I managed to do grappling and striking training, but I'm still far from where I should be. I hope to have more information in the coming months,” she explained. “If things progress, I will try to fight after training for four months, that is, between September and October.”

In his MMA career, Duffee has eight wins and only two losses – to Russow and alistair overeem, in Japan.