Highlights! Durden Retires Schnell With Slick Ninja Choke

Cody Durden vs. Matt Schnell squared off earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 7, 2024) at UFC Vegas 97 LIVE on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a competitive first frame, Durden locked up a really slick ninja choke early in the second to force a finish.

The entire first round was a pretty wild brawl. Durden accepted the fight on just four day’s worth of notice, so he was eager to push the pace and score an early finish. Schnell is never one to avoid a brawl, so the two did a lot of trading power punches at a really high pace from close quarters. It was seriously chaotic and quite surprising than neither man hit the floor.

On the whole, Schnell was landing the cleaner punches, as well as the heavier calf kicks. In the second, however, he tried to switch it up with a double leg takedown. Durden met his shot with a hard sprawl, and Schnell was slow to react. By the time he started moving again, Durden had already fully locked in a rear naked choke grip guillotine.

Check out the final moments below:

After the defeat, Schnell left his gloves in the cage, signaling his retirement. The Flyweight veteran has now lost three in a row and is 34 years old, so that’s likely a wise choice. Schnell certainly built up a scrappy reputation for himself in his UFC career, putting on several top-notch brawls that produced gutsy finishes.

As for Durden, he’s back in the win column in impressive fashion, ready to keep working up the 125-pound ladder.

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For complete UFC Vegas 97 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.