Las Vegas, NV — UFC flyweight Cody Durden is either auditioning for the role of Hannibal the Cannibal, or is just very, very motivated.
We hope it’s the latter.
Following a dominant TKO victory at UFC Vegas 57 on Saturday, in which Durden (13-4-1) smashed his way through JP Buys inside of a round, Durden was quick to agree to a potential match-up with Jeff Molina.
Durden had originally declined to call anyone out, saying he’d fight whoever the UFC put in front of him. Molina, however, got the ball rolling by tweeting after Durden’s win that it was time for him to “see daddy.”
@Cody_Durden it’s time you see daddy 🤫
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) June 26, 2022
Durden sounds game.
“There’s nothing to say. He’s on a three-fight win streak, but if he wants to get his ass beat, we can fight, for sure,” Durden said in response. After a pause, the Covington, Georgia-born fighter added “Jeffery Molina cannot wrestle. I mean, I can f*cking wrestle, I can strike, I will eat him alive. And if he wants to fight, we can go. I’ve been wanting that fight. But I don’t get who I want, so there’s no sense in me going down that road.”
Durden appeared to enter UFC Vegas 57 with a chip on his shoulder, and was fired up after the win on Saturday. That, he said, was because of doubters.
“Just doubters. I got smoked in the last fight before, and a lot of people counted me out. But in my heart, I never counted myself out. I just put in more work and worked harder and made more sacrifices.”
That last loss was a crushing defeat at the hands of Muhammad Mokaev. Between fights, Durden made the decision to head to American Top Team for six weeks, living out of a hotel and isolating himself from friends and family.
“It was boring, lonely. But I knew I was making the right choice, and that’s what helped lead me to victory tonight,” Durden stated. As for dealing with doubters, and self-doubt, well, he’s accustomed to that.
“I’ve been the underdog my whole life, so I’m kind of used to it. But I’m a competitor, I hate losing, so I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 57 post-fight press scrum with Cody Durden above.
