Gordon (14-8) came out strong in the opening round of the card-opening fight, but soon found himself fending off submission attempts from fellow veteran Jimmy Flick. Gordon eventually tapped in the second round, ending his night early and starting a disastrous run for the Canadian men, who went 0-7 on the card (England’s Arnold Allen, who trains with Canada’s TriStar Gym, also suffered defeat, making it 0-8 in a sense).

Following the fight, Gordon could be seen taking off his gloves, though he was not afforded any mic time to make an announcement. However, on his Instagram, Gordon posted a simple message in the wake of the loss: Retired.

Per his Instagram 🇨🇦 Flyweight Malcolm Gordon has retired from MMA.
Gordon was shown starting to take his gloves off in the Octagon following his loss to Jimmy Flick.
Gordon retires with a 14-8 record and was a former TKO WXC & Havoc FC Flyweight Champion.#UFC297 #MMA… pic.twitter.com/lA1bHiAIM5

— Jason Hagholm (@JHagholm1) January 21, 2024

A former TKO flyweight champion, Malcolm Gordon never found the same success in the UFC, posting a 2-5 record across his seven fights dating back to July of 2020. He had missed weight for his last two fights including the Flick bout, making his exit from the promotion almost certain after a third consecutive loss.

Gordon started his career on a much more positive note, however. He won multiple regional titles and ran up a 12-3 record across his first 15 fights in a career dating back to 2012. Under the UFC banner, he holds a victory over Francisco Figueiredo, brother of former UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo.

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Flick once had one of the best submissions in the UFC during his debut in 2020, but now he found himself in a much different position after retiring and then losing two straight fights. Flick started 2024 by seeking his first win since that debut, but his opponent, Malcolm Gordon was highly motivated to start the night off strong for the Canadian crowd and other fighters, but in the end his aggression was his downfall.

At the start of the fight Gordon blitzed forward, energized by the home crowd, and forced Flick to look for a takedown. However Gordon was the one who landed the takedown and rained down punches as Flick tried to throw up submissions. Malcolm got somewhat reckless and stuck in a tight triangle choke. It was not enough to force a tap or put him out and, helped by his coolness under pressure, he escaped. Gordon went back to aggressive ground and pound in the last half of the round. Flick worked to build back up but Gordon went for a guillotine with thirty seconds left. However Flick reversed, got on top, and went for a rare Von Flue choke. Gordon puffed hard and was ultimately saved from the position by the end of the round.

Round two began the same way the first did. Jimmy Flick retreated under fire and turtled up, then shot a takedown. This time, he got it as Gordon over-pursued and fell over, allowing Flick to take his back. Gordon rolled to his back but got stuck in an arm triangle on his way. He tried to bridge and explode out but this submission was much tighter than the first two and Gordon was forced to tap.

Immediately after the finish, Flick taunted the Canadian crowd as Malcolm Gordon began to unwrap his gloves immediately, indicating retirement. They embraced before Flick’s post-fight interview, where he promised his gloves from the fight as a gift for his father.

Official Result: Jimmy Flick def. Malcolm Gordon by Submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 2, 1:17

The post Jimmy Flick Submits Scrappy Malcolm Gordon, Secures First Win Since Unretiring appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I haven’t had the best showing that I know I’m capable of. I’ve been super injured and I try to stay active with three fights a year at minimum, so obviously that take a toll on your body,” Gordon said. “A lot of little things [I was] trying to get worked through. The coaching, the change in training regiment and whatnot – everything that’s going to take me to the next level of the UFC and start getting some wins.”

Amongst those changes was spreading his time out across the ‘Great White North’ in effort to level up in as many ways as possible.

“A lot of improvements have been going into this last 10 months to be honest,” he shared. “In Canada, I try to keep my training camps local, first and foremost. I’m a Canadian athlete. I take a huge amount of pride in training with all of the top teams in Canada.”

Although some might be hesitant about splitting up some of their work amongst the rival gyms in the area, Gordon doesn’t see it that way. In fact, he sees it as a way to express his pride in his country and show the work what Canadian athletes are all about.

“At the end of the day, that’s the flag that’s going to be on my shorts, on my shirt. I don’t see any rivalry amongst any of the gyms throughout this entire country,” Gordon said. “I was fortunate enough to cross-train with some guys out of Vancouver, Danis Kang’s gym – Pinnacle MMA, and did some work with Bibiano Fernandes as well.”

Now he’ll look to show those imporvements against Jimmy Flick – a grappling specialist who loves a jiu jitsu puzzle to solve. And if that’s the type of fight Flick is going to seek again, Gordon can’t wait to show him what this Canadian is all about.

“I have cardio for six months. Grappling is in my blood. Grappling is what I do. If that’s the gameplan for him, it’s going to be welcomed,” he said. “I’m seeing a finish. Either a first or second round TKO.”

You can catch his bout with Flick as part of the ESPN+ prelims of UFC 297 this Saturday. Those fights begin at 6pm EST.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:11.

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UFC 297’s Malcolm Gordon Interview (2:11)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC flyweight, Malcolm Gordon. Gordon discusses travellinf all over Canada to get some work in with the best teams out there. While he’s put in good performances, he’s not been getting the results that he wanted. As a result, heading into UFC 297, he felt he need to do this in order to keep progressing. Then he shares his thoughts on a potentially grappling heavy fight with Jimmy Flick. He even wagers a prediction for us before setting off oin fight week.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC 297 (17:56)

After UFC Vegas 84 got us started right in the new year, we’re moving on to bigger and better fights. UFC 297 is this weekend and we’ve got all the goodies for the event. We’ll start by breaking down the UFC middleweight title fight between du Plessis and Sean Strickland. Then, we’ll tackle the UFC women’s bantamweight title fight with Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva. Plus, we’ll hit you with some other picks we like for Saturday’s action. As always, that’ll include our favorite underdog of the card and a parlay that we think will make your wallet fat. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Marc-Andre Barriault Interview (29:47)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC middleweight, Marc-Andre Barriault. One of the middleweights chasing Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, Barriault discusses his strong run as of late and how a big win over Chris Curtis could turn it up a notch. He believes a win over ‘The Actionman’ should put him right into the thick of things in the UFC’s middleweight division. Additionally, he talks about getting a chance to fight in his home country in Toronto. Plus, he breaks down that fight with Chris Curtis for us as well at UFC 297.

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Flick (16-7) will face Canada’s own Malcolm Gordon (14-7) at UFC 297 on January 20, 2024. Although not announced by the promotion just yet, the card has previously been reported as being held in Toronto, Ontario at the ScotiaBank Arena. Multiple sources confirmed the date and location to Cageside Press.

Not surprisingly, the event has been stacked with Canadians as a result, including Gillian Robertson, Marc-Andre Barriault, two-time TUF champ Brad Katona, and Mike Malott, among others.

As for Flick, he’ll be looking to snap a two fight skid incurred after returning from a retirement he announced back in 2021. Though he returned to the USADA pool shortly after, Flick did not fight between December 2020 and January 2023. He’s 1-2 inside the octagon, and coming off a loss against Alessandro Costa this past June.

Flick announced the news at a regional MMA event earlier this month.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyYy-m5Rfi4/

Gordon has also lost two straight, against Muhammad Mokaev and Jake Hadley. He’s 2-4 in the promotion overall, making this a must-win situation for both fighters.

UFC 297 does not have a main event officially announced at this time, but the following match-ups have been reported for the card:

• Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev
• Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield
• Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana
• Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras
• Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
• Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick
• Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott

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Hadley had lost his debut but impressively finished his opponent in his second UFC bout, putting him back on the upward trend he was on when he entered the UFC at 8-0 in 2022. Would that experience be enough for him to beat Malcolm Gordon, an opponent with double the amount of pro and UFC fights? If Hadley could do so it would put him on the verge of the rankings, but the savvy veteran grappler in Gordon would not go quiet into the night.

Hadley came out pressing forward but Gordon stayed calm to start, counter to his usual chaotic style. Hadley landed two big body shots with a right hook; the first hurt Gordon and the second dropped him. From then it was academic, just a few hammerfists finished the job as Mark Goddard stepped in.

Hadley was a heavy favorite coming into the bout, but the victory was still so fast and so flawless that it was impossible not to be impressed. The young English flyweight earned his second stoppage in as many bouts and proved why so many called him a hot prospect when he came off of the Contender Series.

After that performance @JakeHadleyMMA has his sights set on another #UFC286 fighter 👀 pic.twitter.com/qq2OdeYX9D

— UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2023

After the victory, Hadley addressed his Fight Week confrontation with Muhammad Mokaev, stating that Mokaev was “starting fights in the hotel like an idiot because he don’t want to take an ass-whupping in the cage.”

Official Result: Jake Hadley def. Malcolm Gordon by TKO (body shots), Round 1, 1:01

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England’s Jake Hadley will face Canadian Malcolm Gordon (14-6) at UFC 286 in London, England on March 18, 2023. The match-up was announced by Gordon previously, and confirmed Hadley’s management team, Paradigm Sports, on Friday.

The fight finds Gordon, 32, looking to bounce back from a loss to Muhammad Mokaev in October at UFC 280, where he was submitted via arm-bar. Prior to that setback, Gordon had picked up back-to-back wins over Denys Bondar and Francisco Figueiredo.

Having acquired multiple titles on the regional circuit, Gordon joined the UFC in 2020, and has posted a 2-3 record across five fights thus far.

Hadley fought his way into the UFC as part of Dana White’s Contender Series, and made his promotional debut last year. Dropping that to the vastly more experienced Allan Nascimento, Hadley righted the ship with a submission win against Carlos Candelario in his last outing.

UFC 286 will take place at the O2 Arena in London on March 18, 2023, with Leon Edwards expected to headline, though a fight for the welterweight champ has yet to be officially announced. Thus far, the following match-ups are attached to the card:

• Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
• Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
• Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
• Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill

The post Jake Hadley vs. Malcolm Gordon Booked for UFC 286 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Malcom Gordon came out swinging but Mokaev avoided him and landed a big body kick. The fight became chaos right away as Gordon landed a right hand, ate a flying knee, and then got taken down by Mokaev, who landed in top half guard against the cage. Mokaev dropped a few elbows from the top while Gordon struggled to stand up. Mokaev attempted a guillotine but Gordon got out and got to his feet. Mokaev attempted another one and then switched to single leg takedown which he completed, ending up on top in full guard. Mokaev maintained top position but was unable to do much ground and pound. Muhammad attempted a third guillotine, this time from top half, but it was never all that tight. Gordon was able to smother most offense from Mokaev as the round drew to a close but it was clear that Mokaev had dominated the round with his top control.

The second round started with more forward pressure from Gordon as Mokaev showboated a little. Some fancy strikes like a spinning kick and a flying knee missed from Mokaev. Gordon then charged forward and landed a right hand, which made Mokaev choose to shoot a takedown. Gordon seemed to almost sit down instantly, giving up the takedown with no resistance against the fence. Now in full guard, Mokaev worked to land short punches, then built to bigger punches and went body, body, head – the old classic ground and pound combo. Gordon struggled to his feet but Mokaev maintained a body lock. Gordon went for a Granby roll, trying to escape, but Mokaev rolled with him and stayed on top. Mokaev then passed to side control. As Gordon tried to escape Mokaev went for a d’Arce but Gordon rolled away from it to escape. Mokaev overextended in trying to get an arm triangle and Gordon reversed the position. Mokaev went for a triangle from bottom  but it was not quite locked in and he could not complete it, eventually giving up. Gordon took the back in the last ten seconds and snaked his arm under Mokaev’s chin, but it was the last second of the round and the bell ended any chance he had of finishing.

Gordon came out of the gate running forward with punches but Mokaev easily avoided them and got a reactive takedown to put his foe on the mat in full guard. Gordon got to a knee but Mokaev slid to his back. However Gordon was able to slip to the back of Mokaev and then slam Mokaev to the ground and take the back with both hooks in. Mokaev cleared one hook and then rolled, got out temporarily, and then ended up in bottom full guard. Mokaev hip escaped and came up on the single leg against the cage, switched to a double, and picked up Gordon to dump him to the mat. Gordon tried to get up and Mokaev tried to get to the back. As Mokaev appeared to be about to fall over the top of Gordon, he suddenly switched to an armbar and almost out of nowhere, he forced the tap with less than a minute left to finish the fight after a mostly dominant performance.

Official Result: Muhammad Mokaev def. Malcom Gordon via R3 4:26 submission (Arm bar)

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Mokaev (7-0, 1NC) will face Canada’s Malcolm Gordon (14-5) at the event in Abu Dhabi on October 22. Both fighters confirmed the match-up on social media following an initial report by ESPN on Monday.

A 22-year old British citizen born in Dagestan, Mokaev made his octagon debut at UFC London back in March, steamrolling Cody Durden. He returned in July, again at the O2 Arena in London, England, this time winning a unanimous decision against former LFA champion Charles Johnson.

In addition to his professional career, Mokaev had an unparalleled run as an amateur, winning multiple IMMAF titles, and posting an undefeated record of 22-0.

Gordon will enter the match-up off the strength of back-to-back wins over Denys Bondar and Francisco Figueiredo. Overall, he’s 2-2 through four fights in the UFC, and has held multiple regional titles over the years.

UFC 280 will be held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE on October 22, 2022. A lightweight title fight featuring Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev is expected to headline the event. The card is also the expected landing spot for the bantamweight championship bout between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw.

The following fights have been reported for the card thus far:

• Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – for the vacant UFC lightweight championship
• Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw – for the UFC bantamweight championship
• Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
• Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady
• Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Lemos
• Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lucas Almeida
• Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot
• Makhmud Muradov vs. Caio Borralho
• Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon

The post Muhammad Mokaev Booked Opposite Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280 appeared first on Cageside Press.

There was a point during the pandemic where Canadian flyweight Gordon (14-5) wasn’t even sure he’d be signed to the UFC — gyms were closed, everything was uncertain. Then, when he was signed, he dropped his first two fights. Things looked bleak until he bounced back against Francisco Figueiredo; Gordon followed that up with a TKO win against Bondar Saturday, though the end came about due to an unfortunate injury.

“Overcoming all of these sort of anxieties and emotions, this is important,” Gordon told media outlets including Cageside Press following the event, asked about the contrast between his first two bouts in the octagon, and his last two. “Then after getting that win [against Figueiredo] and getting back in there for this one, I feel confident again, which is dangerous. It’s dangerous. Once I get my feet confident, once I get everything confident in there, I’m a dangerous person.”

That dangerous side was on display at UFC Vegas 47, with Gordon snapping, or at least helping to snap, Bondar’s arm.

“I’m not going in there trying to hurt the guy or anything like that. I did feel when I had that arm-bar that it was tight, and you know, what we have to do is what we have to do to get that finish or get the tap,” Gordon said afterwards. Crediting his opponent’s toughness, Gordon recalled feeling the arm break while he had Bondar in an arm-bar.

“I felt it break, and then it was in the transition, him standing up, when it broke. And once he stood up I was like okay, it’s going to be a matter of time before he realizes that this thing is broken,” explained Gordon, adding “and then I just decided that we would just kind of lean him against the fence and let him touch the hand to the ground. It was a smart move on my part, and once that happened, he realized [the arm was broken] and it was done.”

Letting Bondar put his weight on the broken limb might seem cold, but Gordon had nothing but warm wishes for his opponent after the fact.

“I feel terrible because obviously I don’t want to go in there wanting to kill people. It’s unfortunate. I hope he has a speedy recovery, I know he’s coming off of a couple injuries and this was his first fight in two years. I really do wish him the best and for him to come back stronger from this too.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Malcolm Gordon above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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