UFC 297 Odds, Prediction: Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick
The UFC 297 card from Scotiabank Arena on Saturday begins with the early prelims at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and the first bout features Canadian Malcolm Gordon in a flyweight matchup against American Jimmy Flick.
Gordon opened as a -175 favourite on the MMA odds and Flick at +145.
Malcolm Gordon UFC 297 Odds
Alexandre Pantoja is the current UFC flyweight champion and the 33-year-old Gordon, who is from Calgary but now fights out of Adrenaline MMA in London, Ontario, is unranked with a 14-7 career MMA record. He is the former TKO, WXC and HFC flyweight champion as well as an ex-PMMA bantamweight champion. Gordon built a solid resume on the regional circuit before moving to the big stage of the UFC.
“X” currently has lost two straight bouts and is 2-4 since his UFC debut in July 2020. Gordon was last in the Octagon in March and lost to Jake Hadley by first-round TKO (punches) just 1:01 into the fight. Gordon weighed in above the flyweight limit and proceeded at catchweight, with 30 per cent of Gordon’s purse going to his opponent. Hadley landed two big body shots with a right hook with the second dropping Gordon to the canvas. Hadley, a heavy favourite, then pounced with some hammerfists as the referee stepped in.
The 5-foot-7 Gordon has a reach of 71 inches and his fights average 6:13. He lands 1.93 significant strikes per minute with 42 per cent accuracy and absorbs 2.26 with 42 per cent defence. His takedown average is 1.61 per 15 minutes with 30 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is nine per cent. Gordon has six wins by submission, five by KO/TKO and three by decision with five losses by KO/TKO and two by submission.
Jimmy Flick UFC 297 Odds
The 33-year-old Flick, from Oklahoma, is also unranked in the UFC flyweight division with a 16-7 record. He got his big break in September 2020 by appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series and beating Nate Smith by third-round submission (arm-triangle choke) to earn a spot on the UFC roster.
“The Brick” followed that with a first-round submission victory over Cody Durden in December 2020 before retiring for a few months only to return to the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing pool the following year. Flick is 0-2 since returning and comes off a second-round TKO loss (elbows) to Alessandro Costa in June. Some believe Flick’s spot with the UFC is on the line here.
“I mean, yeah,” Flick said about his spot in the UFC. “For me, for him [Malcolm Gordon], our job, everything. I’m coming to his country, he wants to defend his country and get a win. He’s on a two-fight losing streak, I’m on a two-fight losing streak. We need a win here. Our jobs are in jeopardy, our careers are in jeopardy. How does he feel about fighting in his country, how do I feel about— at the end of the day, it’s business. And I know what I’ve got to do. I trained really, really hard for this, I’m finishing up a great camp, and it could not have went any better. We usually have a lot up and downs. I can’t say mentally I haven’t had some battles but physically, everything has been great for this camp.”
The 5-foot-7 Flick has a reach of 68 inches and his bouts average 6:47. He lands 1.99 significant strikes per minute with 50 per cent accuracy and absorbs 5.05 with 38 per cent defence. His takedown average is 1.66 per 15 minute with 27 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is zero per cent. Flick has a whopping 14 wins by submission, so you know he wants this fight on the ground, with victories two by decision. Six of his losses are by KO/TKO and one by the judges.
Flick tends to leave everything out there in terms of giving and receiving punishment and his fights are rarely boring – or go the distance. His last fight to reach the judges was in 2016. The over-under for the scheduled three-rounder is 1.5 rounds with the under a -125 favourite.
