Athletes
Chris Duncan | Scotland's Grateful Warrior
Backed By One Of The Sport's Most Successful Teams And Armed With A New UFC Contract, Scotland's Chris Duncan Is Ready To Claim The Spoils In His Scotland vs. England Matchup
Scottish lightweight Chris Duncan is a contented man.
The 31-year-old has a new UFC contract, the backing of a world-class team and is coming off his biggest UFC victory to date. And he has an upcoming fight on UK soil that is all set to get his competitive juices flowing once again.
View Chris Duncan's Athlete Page
Duncan will make the walk for his fifth UFC fight this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady, as he gets set to compete in London's O2 Arena for the third time.
It might not be his homeland, but it's not a million miles away.
"It just makes things a little bit easier, more the comfortabilities," he told UFC.com during fight week in the English capital.
"I travel a lot. I travel all over the world. And then when it comes to fight week, if you know places to eat, places to go, places to get some snacks, it just takes a little bit of a damper off it.
"Mexico wasn't the best place for me going around. They don't speak English. So, that was really far afield. But being in the UK, home crowd, it's good."
MORE UFC LONDON: Brady's Journey To London | Edwards & Lovell Bond
Duncan got plenty of fan support from the stands in his prior two appearances in the famous London arena, but things could be quite different this weekend, with the Scot facing English opposition in the form of the popular former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic.
It means that, after twice fighting at the venue with the London crowd on his side, he could find himself on the other side of the coin this weekend.
I think me going into The O2 this time, I will be the guy getting booed, because Jordan Vucenic is an English guy,” he said.
“So I'm going to take it back to Scotland vs England, many, many years ago.
“I'm from Stirling, so that's where The Battle Bannockburn happened. So this is the modern-day battle between Scotland and England for myself.
"It's not going to add pressure, but it's something a little bit closer to me than it would be for just a (regular) fight."
Four Reasons To Watch Cage Warriors 186 Before UFC London
Despite knowing he won't get the majority of the fan support from the stands on fight night, he's still enjoying the relative comforts of fighting back in the UK.
And, if the London crowd opts to boo him rather than cheer him this time, he's fine with that.
"I'm looking forward to the boos, because energy is energy to me," he said.
"I fought in Mexico, and I was in the lion's den there. People were throwing chips, you name it!
"I came out the other end with a loss, but the energy was great, and I enjoyed the energy.
"Looking back, obviously I did lose, but it was a great experience. And experiences make you a better fighter going forward."
FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X | On Threads
That loss in Mexico, to Manuel Torres, left Duncan looking to bounce back immediately when he returned to the cage to face Bolaji Oki three months later.
Duncan knew he needed a big performance, and he delivered exactly that as he claimed his first finish in the UFC via a first-round guillotine choke.
It was a victory that not only put him back in the win column, it also boosted his bank balance by an extra $50,000, courtesy of a Performance of the Night bonus. All in all, it was a great week.
"I signed a new contract, as well, so obviously my money went up," he said.
"To be totally honest with you, my life's completely changed – not in the sense that I'm buying crazy cars and stuff like that. Fifty grand doesn't go very far, especially with the UK tax law! But it's changed my family's life, for sure.
"And, going to the shop and not having to think about buying silly things like pants and socks. I'm a simple guy, so I just want to make sure my family's OK, and then I'll be happy for the rest of my life."
It's taken Duncan's UFC record to three wins, one defeat, and he said that the experience he's picked up across those four bouts has given him more clarity heading into this weekend's fight.
WATCH: Brady Talks With Megan Olivi & Laura Sanko
"The biggest takeback I've taken from (my UFC career so far) has been, it doesn't matter how you feel, it's how you perform," he said.
"So, regardless of how you feel – you might feel ill, you might feel unmotivated – regardless of that, you can always fight your hardest.
"So, whether you feel rubbish on the day or some things were going wrong – there's silly things that can go wrong throughout fight camp or even in fight week – things like people forgetting things, or you're late, or you're struggling to make weight. All these sorts of things can play a factor.
"But, regardless of how you feel, you go into the Octagon and fight your hardest. What more can you ask for?"
Duncan's development as a fighter has been driven by his decision to move his training camp from Scotland to Coconut Creek, Florida, and the world-class facilities, and personnel, at American Top Team.
Duncan admits it's been a gamechanger for his career, and credits a Scottish UFC trailblazer for helping him make the switch.
"One of my main training partners, Robert Whiteford, had trained there," he said.
"In Scotland we have quite a small MMA community, and I was very fortunate to meet Robert early on. He came and did a seminar in the gym, and we pestered each other to train, and we ended up training.
Full UFC London Fight Card Preview
"A lot of the guys in Scotland all train at one gym, and me and Robert just kind of stayed on our own, and we went to American Top Team. And we're the best fighters to come out of Scotland now, so it just shows you that the hard work pays off, and the sacrifice going over to American Top Team pays off.
"That gym is insane. It's changed my game, and I'm very, very fortunate to have got the chance to train there.
"In American Top Team, there's specialists there. You've got Renato Moicano, Grant Dawson, Mateusz Gamrot, Arman Tsarukyan, all these sorts of guys, and they're all in my division. They're all in the Top 15. Where else are you gonna go? You can't get a better gym.
"And especially the coaches, Mike Brown, Thiago Alves – these guys are in my corner. It's like the Orion's Belt of the fight world. You don't see that very often, and I'm very fortunate."
Duncan and his team have been prepping for a tricky opponent this weekend. England's Vucenic may have lost in his Octagon debut, but the Corby native has delivered plenty of big performances at The O2's smaller venue, the Indigo, during a Cage Warriors career that saw him capture the promotion's featherweight world title, and he'll relish the opportunity to compete in the big arena, with a passionate crowd cheering him on.
Duncan knows that "The Epidemic" deserves respect, but says he has his man well scouted ahead of their main card showdown on Saturday.
UFC LONDON FREE FIGHTS: Edwards vs Covington | Brady vs Burns
"He can be dangerous all around," he said.
"We're in the UFC. There's nobody that's really lacking any sort of skillset, and he's fundamentally sound everywhere.
"I'm looking to capitalize on some tells and some attributes that I think are great. Everybody can see he's a clean, crisp striker. And I think I just put it all together better, and I want to make it messy. So it's going to be a great fight. I'm looking forward to it."
And, after claiming the spoils of a bonus-winning performance last time out, Duncan is targeting another post-fight check to end his night this weekend, though he said that he'd much rather win one bonus than the other.
"It won't be Fight of the Night, but it'll be Performance of the Night, because Fight of the Night means it was 50-50, and I want to make sure I get this guy out of here," he said.
"I visualized every possible way, and I'll take anything. I'll take a boring three-round decision, but I will also take a knockout as soon as it pops up.
"If you're in the UFC and you're not trying to finish someday, you're in the wrong promotion. So I'm just going to go out there, kill or be killed."
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady took place live from O2 Arena in London, England on March 22, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags