Duke Didier is the son of rugby royalty, but he is carving out a legacy of his own in mixed martial arts.
‘The Duke of Canberra’ plans to continue his rise toward the top of the sport when he faces undefeated Canadian heavyweight Ben Tynan at ONE Fight Night 21: Eersel v Nicolas at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, April 6.
Growing up in Canberra, Didier had the ultimate role model to look up to on his way to an elite-level sporting career in the form of his father – former Wallaby and ACT Brumby Geoff Didier.
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“I had a pretty good life growing up. I came from a sporting background. My dad was an elite rugby player. He played for the Wallabies and the Brumbies. He was a pro and very well renowned, especially here in Canberra, and he’s always been a big influence for me,” he said.
“He’s never ever pushed me into doing any particular sport. He’s always been a great role model and been super supportive of whatever I’ve chosen. I think that having someone to look up to like that gives me the drive that I have here at 34 years old to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Didier dreamed of following in his dad’s footsteps as a kid before a foray into his school’s judo program altered the course of his life.
![Duke Didier is the son of rugby royalty.](jpg/49f73d578123d0c51fb5928884b3cb2f8f153610e2c3.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
He was a decent prospect in rugby union, making the ACT representative side as an 18-year-old. But ultimately it was judo that won his heart and, by 20, rugby was in the rear-view mirror.
“I started playing rugby when I was nine. I started doing judo because I was told at my school that it would help my tackling for rugby. So, that led me into judo,” he said.
“Where I went to school, it just so happened there was a judo program there, one of the most elite judo programs in the country, with several Olympians. So, I ended up catching the bug and worked my way onto the junior training team and into the AIS for judo. Then I was pretty much doing that full-time. I gave up on the rugby and stuck with judo throughout the years.
“If you want to be a leader in something, you can’t spread yourself too thin. I tell that to my athletes all the time. You can be OK at everything, or you can be good at one thing. I just gravitated to what I was good at. So if I was better at rugby, you probably would have seen me playing rugby, but I was better at judo.”
Despite his obvious ties to the world of rugby union, Didier took his dad’s influence into the world of martial arts.
His elite mentality saw him claim three national titles, an Oceania championship, medals at the Asian and US Opens, and a spot on the 2014 Australian Commonwealth Games team in Glasgow, Scotland.
“That gave me the drive and the motivation to make sure that I did achieve that because it was obviously something that I’ve seen is possible and it’s not out of reach,” he said.
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“I never wanted to grow up in someone’s shadow, and when I was very young that kind of thing would happen. I just made sure that I pursued what I was good at until I got really good at it. I just never quit, never gave up. Never once did I think about quitting.”
Another cross-training venture took Didier into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one of the key pillars of mixed martial arts.
After heart wrenchingly missing selection for the 2018 Olympic games judo team, the Progression MMA representative decided to go all-in on his new dream to become a top fighter.
His parents were somewhat taken aback by his latest MMA career choice, but ultimately their support enabled Didier’s meteoric rise to the global stage in just 10 fights.
“My passport is very full, and I can thank judo for that. I’ve seen the world multiple times in corners of the world that I know I’ll never get back to. That’s because of that initial drive that I had and the support I had from my mum and my dad,” he said.
“I never had a dad that tried to live vicariously through his son, which you see a lot of in junior sport. I always had a supportive dad. That has resulted in me being able to find my own path. And when I found my own path, it turned out that that path was judo and then fighting in cages for a living.”
Didier quickly embarked on a win streak that netted him some national MMA titles on the local circuit, but he ultimately had his eyes on the bright lights of ONE Championship.
After coming up short in his promotional debut – which he accepted on short notice – the Aussie heavyweight now feels ready to grab his opportunity with the promotion with both hands.
“(Fighting in ONE Championship) was a goal I set for myself a very long time ago. I set myself a goal, and now my next goal is to make sure that I assert myself as a winner on that promotion,” he said.
“Honestly, it’s just really gratifying. It’s a culmination of all my hard work and all my life’s work to be given this stage now, to be able to ply my trade. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to do this on an international level and get mainstream exposure that I feel like I deserve. I’m very grateful for the opportunity, and now it’s time to take that opportunity.”
His next opportunity comes in the form of Tynan, a Canadian wrestling standout who has finished all his five professional MMA opponents inside the distance.
![Canadian wrestling standout Ben Tynan has finished all his five professional MMA opponents inside the distance.](jpg/47f50208e177a66e96a4ff83e4bfc680cc4faf76e2c3.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
The affable Didier sees a lot of himself in the eccentric Tynan, who has bleached blonde hair and a quirky sense of humour.
It’s those traits, alongside Tynan’s obvious fighting pedigree, that Didier feels he will have to negate come April 6.
“(I) love it. I reckon if I wasn’t fighting him, I’d like him. I like the cut of his jib. I reckon he’s entertaining. I see a lot of myself in the way he holds himself, and that’s a compliment,” he said.
“I think he’s got he’s got pretty good cardio and pretty good wrestling. I think his electric personality is something I’ve going watch out for too. He looks like he’s a real character out of a game and that’s awesome.
“I don’t want to get caught up in a pro wrestling match because I love it too, so I don’t want to get carried away too much. But if I can go in and get the job done, I’ll try and have a beer with him afterwards.”
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