Cody Durden got off to a hot start, but Jimmy Flick took advantage of an opportunity to hit an unexpected submission to win in his promotional debut at UFC Vegas 17.
Grapplers took to the cage at UFC Vegas 17 as Cody Durden faced the debuting Jimmy Flick. Flick had some hype behind him coming into the debut thanks to a dominant performance on the Contender Series in which he won by third round submission. Prior to that, Flick won the LFA title in July with a 38-second submission victory.
Durden entered the UFC on a seven-fight win streak in August, taking on veteran Chris Gutierrez. They fought to a draw after a very strong first round for Durden. Durden had finished everyone on that streak. An eye infection for Durden had pushed this fight back by two weeks.
Flick started the fight with a leg kick that came up short and Durden responded with a multi-punch combination. Durden caught a leg kick from Flick and drove him to the ground, taking his back in the process and landing ground-and-pound. Durden nearly flattened him out, but Flick was able to get to his feet with Durden hanging onto him. They separated and Durden popped Flick with a jab. Durden went to an overhand right then a pair of leg kicks and followed by another strong combination. Durden got a bit too close to Flick after catching a head kick, then Flick jumped up and locked in a triangle choke. Durden was trying to work his way out, but Flick had him secured and Durden was forced to tap out.
A FLYING TRIANGLE! ⚠️🤯@JimmyFlick HAS ARRIVED. #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/6Dp6QZFtNz
— UFC (@ufc) December 19, 2020
After the impressive debut, Flick was in no rush to get back in the cage after fighting four times this year. He’s certainly ready to make some noise in 2021 after making a name for himself in his debut though.
Jimmy Flick def. Cody Durden by Submission (Triangle Choke) in Round 1 (3:18)
