Athletes
Chris Duncan | Aiming For A Spot On The Wall
Scottish Lightweight Talks Sacrifice, Goals, Being The Underdog Ahead Of Critical Clash On Saturday
Chris Duncan’s son Tiger celebrated his first birthday at the start of the month, but Dad wasn’t there to join in on the festivities; he was in Coconut Creek, Florida at American Top Team, living in the fighter dorms for one of the eight weeks he’s spent at the gym in preparation for this weekend’s clash with Mateusz Rebecki.
“As a man, you need to take charge, do the things that you don’t want to do for your family to thrive, and that’s something I’m willing to do is put myself in the firing line every single day,” the Scotsman said when asked about missing his boy’s birthday and the sacrifice of leaving his family for extended periods of time in order to give himself the best opportunity to thrive in the UFC lightweight division. “It’s not a sacrifice if it’s something worth living for.
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“It does feel like a sacrifice, but after the win, and the money, the stuff that comes with the UFC, it’s well worth it. I’ve been able to achieve my dreams when it comes to being in the UFC, but I’ve also been able to allow my wife to stay at home and look after the kids, and that was a long-time goal for her, as well.”
In just a couple years as a pro, Duncan amassed a 6-0 record and made enough of an impression to garner an opportunity to compete on the fifth season of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), where he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Viacheslav Borshchev. After getting things moving in the right direction again on the regional circuit, he returned to the UFC APEX during Season 6 and earned his chance to compete in the Octagon by stopping Charlie Campbell in a wild 103-second barnburner.
Contract in hand, he wanted to take his skills to the next level and turned to his longtime training partner Robert Whiteford for advice, with the UFC alum steering him to the South Florida outpost he’d spent plenty of time at over the years.
“I would always ask him — he’s been there since Day One with my training, so I would also look to him for advice — and he said (ATT) is the place to be,” began Duncan, explaining how he first opted to make the transatlantic trek for his training camps and the overall impact the gym has had on his development over the last several years. “I tried other places before I was a professional, like Thailand, and there were things I just didn’t like about that.
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“When I went to American Top Team, my eyes were opened to the training, the facilities, and the coaching that was there.
“When you rub shoulders with these people, it’s always gonna rub off,” he continued, speaking broadly about the all-star cast of athletes and coaches that are constantly on the mats at American Top Team. “The type of athletes that come to ATT are all similarly minded. They say ‘you’re a product of your environment’ so that’s something I’m gonna be.
“There are many great champions in there, many great athletes, and I just strive to be one of them, eventually,” he added. “A long-term goal of mine is to trying to get my picture up on the ATT wall. You see all these amazing fights up on the wall, so one day I’ll get there, but I’ve got to do some work first.”
The next bit of work he has to contend with comes this weekend in the form of Rebecki.
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A fellow member of the DWCS Class of ’22, the compact Polish powerhouse has similarly posted a 4-1 record through his first five UFC appearances, rebounding from his first setback inside the Octagon last October with a split decision victory over Myktybek Orolbai at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. After beginning his training camp at home, the 32-year-old lightweight made the same trip Duncan typically makes, boarding a plane for South Florida to put the finishing touches on camp at American Top Team.
“To be honest, it’s more that other people think it’s weird,” Duncan said when asked of being in the same facility as his opponent for the last several weeks. “I’ve done many things that I’ve not liked to do to get to the UFC, and this was just another one that I’ve got to do.
“It wasn’t enjoyable — I didn’t like seeing him every single day, and I’m literally gonna go and fight him on Saturday — but sometimes you’ve got to do the things you don’t want to do in order to get to where you want to get to in life.
“I’ve been there a little longer than Mateusz I think, so I’ve kind of established the coaches that I work with,” he added, outlining how they two were able to both share the same space and keep their distance from one another as they readied for this weekend’s clash. “They separated us — they put me in the cage, and when I did my wrestling, I was in the black room. ATT made it really easy for me — they were very professional — and it was out of my hands.
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“I barely seen him, to be honest.”
But he knows he’ll be seeing him straight from the jump on Saturday night.
“He comes forward, so you know he’s gonna be there, and he takes the damage,” he said when asked what he anticipates out of Rebecki this weekend. “So obviously I’m gonna hit him and hopefully he doesn’t hit me back; that’s the aim of the game. He’s gonna try and wrestle me a little bit, so bring it on.”
There was a bit of an edge to Duncan’s voice as he talked about the pairing and finally stepping in with Rebecki this weekend, one that seemingly — and understandably — stems from the way the pundits and punters are framing the contest.
Despite having reached the UFC at the same time and both sporting 4-1 records inside the Octagon, Rebecki has been installed as the betting favorite, even though it’s Duncan that comes in off consecutive submission finishes. While there is no way to definitively quantify which man has faced a tougher slate ahead of their meeting this weekend, it feels like the fact that Rebecki has stood in with a couple more well-regarded talents has helped the Polish fighter earn greater acclaim and recognition, along with being stationed significantly further up the rankings than his adversary this weekend.
As such, Duncan rightfully sees Saturday’s contest as a chance to truly show where he stands in the talent-rich 155-pound weight class, as well as maybe help his friends make a few extra pounds at the windows.
“It means loads,” he said of getting a win over Rebecki. “It’s gonna push me up the rankings, so it’s good. I’m gonna put on a performance, show all the lightweights.
“A lot of the betting agencies put me at terrible odds, like 4-to-1 underdog; that’s crazy odds and it’s been happening too much. I think since my Contender Series fight with Charlie Campbell, I’ve only been the favorite once, and that was against Yanal Ashmouz.
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“They are,” he said with a smile when asked if his friends have been cashing tickets on the back of his recent guillotine wins over Bolaji Oki and Jordan Vucenic. “One of my friends sent me (a picture of his) bank account after the last one. I think I was 4-to-1 and he put a hundred pounds on, so he came away with (some good money).”
Back at similar odds ahead of Saturday, if Duncan can keep things rolling, the pints at the pub after he gets home will once again be on the lads.
But only after he spends a little time with his favorite one-year-old and the rest of his family.
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