Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing close to 260 pounds, it isn’t difficult to notice Ultimate Fighter Championship fighter and University student Todd Duffee.

It wasn’t until this past August, however, that UFC fans across the country really started to take notice of the 23-year-old Athens resident.

On August 29th at UFC 102 in Portland, Ore., Duffee cemented himself as an up-and-coming star with just a single jab of his right fist.

In an undercard fight against Canadian brawler Tim Hague, Duffee recorded the fastest knockout in UFC history after landing a right hand to the jaw of Hague that knocked him out in a mere seven seconds.

While the seven-second knockout is not the quickest in Mixed Martial Arts history, the UFC is the highest grossing outlet of the sport and Duffee’s feat should not be overlooked, even though he says that he’d like to forget it and just move on.

“It doesn’t mean a lot to me because it’s more of a statistic,” Duffee said. “Even though it’s helped me with sponsorships and grow my fan base, I want top competition and veterans of the sport to prove that I can compete at the highest level and that this wasn’t a fluke.”

Originally from Eldorado, Ill., Duffee moved to the Atlanta area as a teenager with his mother and became a self-proclaimed gym rat.

“I started out doing a little boxing back in Illinois, but when I came down here I really started to train as a boxer,” Duffee said. “Then I saw UFC on TV one day and within a week I was training everyday to get started in MMA.”

With an unblemished 5-0 UFC record, Duffee may have earned that chance as he was recently slated to duel against Paul Buentello in UFC 107 December 12th.

“I just want the opportunity to show [UFC President] Dana [White] that I belong here and hopefully he’ll keep giving me opportunities.”

Whenever Duffee isn’t proving that he belongs in the UFC by knocking out his opponents, you can find him training in Athens or maintaining his University enrollment on the internet.

“I’m still enrolled in online classes right now, but I’m not a full-time student,” Duffee said. “I still train here in Athens at HardCore Gym because my main focus is fighting right now.”

Even though it would appear as though Duffee doesn’t have too much spare time to enjoy the college life in Athens, he says that he still finds time to let loose and enjoy himself.

“I frequent General’s [bar] a lot – I mean I like to party just like anyone else,” Duffee said. “I’m a normal college kid, though, and I try to blend in with everyone else.”

Duffee has a clear outlook on what it’s going to take for him to continue to gain popularity in one of the country’s fastest growing sports.

“The way I look at it is: I have a job right now – just a job. But if I go out and win in December I’ll have a career, and that’s something I’m really pushing for.”