Chris Duncan: 2023’s UK MMA Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year

Breakthrough of the year is VMTV’s version of the most improved fighter. The athlete that exceeded expectations in 2023, raised their game and came into 2024 in a completely different position to where they kicked off the previous year. All four nominees received a lot of support from the votes and they’re all incredibly deserving of praise but ultimately, there could only be one winner. In 2023, Chris Duncan arrived in the UFC’s lightweight division and secured back-to-back wins to solidify his spot on the roster. 

Duncan’s run in Bellator certainly put him on the map in the UK scene but 2023 was the year that he really stepped up a level. After falling short the first time around, the Scot took his second shot at a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. His incredible comeback and knockout win over Charlie Campbell made him impossible to deny. From there, the hard work was just getting started. 

Chris Duncan made his UFC debut at the O2 Arena for UFC 286 after his Contender Series win showed what a lot of UK fans already knew about “The Problem”. In a battle of wills, he has the toughness and power to put anyone through the ringer but where he really exceeded expectations in 2023 was the manner of his victories. Without needing to throw caution to the wind to force his foes into a slugfest, Duncan got the job done in both of his outings inside the Octagon. 

His debut win over Omar Morales was a hard fought split decision victory that only made his second contest of the year even more impressive. Yanal Ashmouz signalled himself out as one to watch with his ruthless knockout win against Sam Patterson on that same night in London. When the two men were matched up with one another, many signalled the fight as a good old fashioned high noon shootout between two gunslingers. Chris Duncan didn’t read the script. 

Rather than get into a firefight with the clearly very dangerous Ashmouz, he fought smart and picked up the biggest win of his career against a hotly tipped opponent. We expected to see Duncan in some barnburners this year and his scheduled fight with Terrance McKinney, that was unfortunately cancelled, would have likely delivered that. Instead, we saw the growth and development of a fighter in real time whilst he was applying his trade at the highest level. 

Chris Duncan proved in 2023 that he has far more strings to his bow than his Contender Series performances alluded to. Whilst he always has that ability to bite down on his gum shield and walk into the fire in his back pocket, “The Problem” is the breakthrough fighter of 2023 for securing two wins in the UFC’s lightweight division without ever needing it.

He now turns his attention to kicking 2024 off by going 3-0 inside the Octagon when “The Problem” takes on Manuel Torres in Mexico City on February 24th.