UFC 297 kicked off with quite a scrap.
On Saturday evening in Toronto, Jimmy Flick faced Malcolm Gordon in the first fight of the evening for UFC 297, and the two flyweights delivered a back-and-forth battle that saw Flick score a comeback submission win in the second round.
Right out of the gate, Gordon stormed across the cage and the two men traded big shots before Gordon got a bodylock and slammed Flick to the mat. From there, Gordon worked Flick over on top with heavy ground-and-pound, while Flick attacked with submissions off his back, nearly locking in a triangle choke at one point. Gordon evaded and spent most of the rest of the round punishing Flick before attempting to dive on a guillotine choke near the end of the round, allowing Flick to reverse him and then attack a Von Flue choke as the round ended.
The frenetic pace continued to start the second round as Gordon again charged across the cage at Flick but this time Gordon got a little too aggressive, allowing Flick to slide past him and jump on the back. As Gordon turned in, Flick locked up an arm-triangle choke and after some positioning, Gordon was forced to tap at 1:17 of the second round.
Jimmy Flick gets the submission and is immediately booed by the Canadian crowd #UFC297
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/vpnulnCT16
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 20, 2024
The win is Flick’s first since returning to the UFC last year after a brief retirement from the sport and comes with some extra money as he takes home 20 percent of Gordon’s purse after Gordon missed weight on Friday.
Following the fight, Gordon took off his gloves, the traditional expression of retirement, but did not give an interview to clarify if he was leaving the sport for good.