Duane Ludwig: UFC Welterweight Talks Recent Loss and Future

Despite the fact that Duane Ludwig was defeated by Josh Neer in their match on the UFC on FX card on January 20th, the man they call “Bang” doesn’t necessarily view his most recent outing as a total write-off.

“The fight was going as planned—hitting and moving,” recounted Ludwig, 33. “Just using angles and being faster. Then, of course, I went for the scramble to get up and Josh was one step ahead.”

Although Ludwig emphasized that he doesn’t make excuses for his performances, he nevertheless has good reason for getting caught and subsequently choked unconscious by Neer, the proud owner of 12 submission victories as a professional mixed martial artist.

“I created a bad habit in training that helped cause my defeat,” Ludwig explained. “But it's done and over with now. Coming off my neck surgery, I had people stay away from attacking my neck and I became unaware of guillotines…It's hard to prepare for every situation, but the one thing I stayed away from, cost me the fight.”

Fortunately for Ludwig, he walked away from his match without suffering any injuries—a fact the Denver, Colo. product is admittedly quite happy about.

Moving forward, Ludwig, who holds notable victories in mixed martial arts over Charles Bennett, Yves Edwards, Jens Pulver, Amir Sadollah and Genki Sudo and nearly 50 wins as a professional kickboxer, is hoping to return to action in two months.

Looking past the next few months, Ludwig is hoping to once again get back to his winning ways in the Octagon.

“[I want to] just get back in the gym and get better,” Ludwig explained. “Get a few wins and enjoy the life I'm in.”

Ed Kapp is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations were obtained first-hand.