It was delight for Stirling scrapper Chris Duncan after he scored a sensational debut victory in the UFC at the weekend.
The Tullibody lightweight fulfilled a lifetime dream by stepping foot in the octagon on Saturday night – and he made it an occasion to remember when he had his hand raised following a hard-fought bout.
The UFC newcomer faced off against tough Venezuelan opponent Omar Morales at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night as part of the UFC 286 event.
The cat-and-mouse contest saw the judges returned their verdict, with Duncan winning a split decision, 29-28, 29-28 and 27-30.
The opening round saw both fighter land their share of strikes in a back-and-forth encounter.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the 29-year-old – who fights out of Stirling’s Evo Gym – as he sustained a number of hard kicks to his legs which momentarily seemed to cause him problems.
Duncan then mixed his gaem up, taking Morales down to the canvas on a number of occasion to assert his dominance on the Venezuelan.
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It was Duncan’s control over the opponent in the grappling exchanges that sealed the win.
As the bout went to the judges scorecards, the win was uncertain, but the verdict saw Duncan have his hand raised in victory.
The win saw Duncan move to 10-1 as a professional.
Following the debut win, a jubilant Duncan said: “I’m happy with it (the victory). I need to win on my debut and it was a bit scrappy – I got caught (with strikes). I had a little bit of first time nerves.
“I lost my Contender Series fight through ego, so when I went back to my corner after the first round they told me “go to your wrestling” so I got my win and I can now put food on my table for the family, which is important.
“Winning your debut is very important. A lot of people lost in their debut, but that’s me one(fight) up and I'm looking forward to the next match.”
Duncan was left blown away by the support her received from a rowdy home crowd.
“It was brilliant”, he added.
“Thank you to everybody that came to support me. It was pretty much a home fight.”
Looking ahead to the future, he added: “I’d like to get a fight in in about three months time, try and get a quick turnaround. I feel like I’m a momentum fighter and I want to get back in there as soon as possible.”
