Duffy to undergo surgery After suffering broken hand at Cage Warriors 44

Joseph Duffy will have surgery tomorrow on the hand injury he sustained during Saturday’s defeat to Ivan Musardo at Cage Warriors 44.

Medics have confirmed that the Irishman suffered a double fracture to his left hand during Round 3 of the bout, breaking two metacarpals. Duffy subsequently tasted defeat for the first time in his professional career, as Musardo captured the vacant CWFC lightweight title with a submission victory in the 4th round.

The injury will keep Duffy (10-1-0) out of the cage until 2012 but it’s hoped the 23-year-old will be cleared to return to training before the end of the year. Cage Warriors director Graham Boylan said: “Duffy will bounce back from this loss and we look forward to having him on a Cage Warriors card again.

“Joe is the real deal and I stand by my words on this kid. He was running away with that fight, Ivan had no answers for Duffy’s striking but he had the answer on the ground. Joe slipped up and Ivan took the belt, but that’s MMA. It reminded me of the Silva versus Sonnen fight. You just never know what’s going to happen in MMA.”

Boylan added: “Joe has broken the fourth and fifth metacarpals in his hand so he’ll be out until the new year. I’ve spoken to him and he has taken a lot of positives from this fight with Ivan. This ‘L’ on his record will only add fuel to his fire. He’s young and you’ll be watching and reading how great he’ll become in the future of MMA.

“And may I also add a huge congratulations to Ivan Musardo on becoming the Cage Warriors lightweight champion.”