Top-fifteen flyweight Cody Durden lost his spot in the rankings against Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 94.
Durden came into this bout off of a loss to Tagir Ulanbekov, but before that had won four fights in a row on the strength of his wrestling. That stood in stark contrast to Silva, a knockout artist on a three-fight winning streak who has not fought for a year and a four months. Both men knew the winner would have momentum in an increasingly strong flyweight division, and while it initially looked like that would be Durden, Silva came from behind to win in the end.
Both traded kicks when the bout started as they battled for position on the feet. The range soon narrowed to where they could box effectively, and Durden had surprising effectiveness there for a wrestling specialist. Silva’s nose and cheeks were reddened and he was forced onto the back foot without Cody even having to threaten the wrestling. He continued to be the sharper boxer for the remainder of the round, except when an eye poke briefly paused action.
Bruno tried to keep up when round two started but he got clipped and wobbled instantly. He shot a takedown which Durden defended and turned into an anaconda choke attempt. He did not get it, but ended up in side control after the scramble settled, then got to half-guard. Silva worked up to his feet with great effort but simply got mat returned, deflating him. Still, Bruno fought back to his feet again, and that is where everything changed. Silva charged forward and caught Durden with a rear uppercut that dropped the Georgian wrestler. Ten seconds of ground and pound followed on a dazed Cody Durden until the referee stepped in, completing an insane comeback.
With truly game-changing power in the flyweight division, Bruno Silva will move into the top-15 as a threat to many fighters there, but will need to fix the issues that had him losing before he got the finish.
Official Result: Bruno Silva def. Cody Durden by TKO (uppercut) Round 2, 2:58
