| Cody Durden | |
| Birth Date: | 29 March 1991 |
| Birth Place: | Covington, Georgia, United States |
| Weight Lb: | 125 |
| Weight Class: | Flyweight (2017–2018, 2020–present) Bantamweight (2016–2020) |
| Reach: | 69+1/2 in[1] |
| Stance: | Southpaw |
| Fighting Out Of: | Georgia, United States |
| Team: | American Top Team Atlanta (2014–2020)[2] [3] American Top Team Gwinnett (2020–present) |
| Years Active: | 2016–present |
| Mma Kowin: | 6 |
| Mma Subwin: | 5 |
| Mma Decwin: | 5 |
| Mma Koloss: | 1 |
| Mma Subloss: | 4 |
| Mma Decloss: | 1 |
| Mma Draw: | 1 |
| Box Win: | 4 |
| Sherdog: | 222325 |
| Boxrec: | 821431 |
Cody Durden (born March 29, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of July 30, 2024, he is #15 in the UFC flyweight rankings.[4]
Playing multiple sports since early childhood, Durden was an aspiring baseball player but around the eighth grade he switched completely to wrestling due to stopped growth. A 2009 graduate of Eastside High School, he wrestled under coach Michael Smith-Foot, leading the Eagles to two state championships. He compiled a remarkable 121–31 record, winning four area championships, two sectional titles and advanced to the state final as a senior.[5]
He was offered a scholarship to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, but due to the arrival of his son, he started working instead of attending school. After the invitation of his long-time friend and mixed martial artist Travis Knight to train at a gym, he started training regularly around the age of 21 and made his amateur debut in 2014.[6]
Durden's first bout in 2014 brought him a loss against Francisco Quijada in the amateur National Fighting Championship promotion.[7] Following that loss, Durden went on a five-fight win streak with the NFC, prompting the fighter to move up to a more professional level.
Durden won his first four professional fights, then suffered back-to-back defeats to Jared Scoggins and Ryan Hollis. He would go on to win the next 7 bouts, all via stoppage, winning the VF Bantamweight Championship in the process.[8]
Durden, as a replacement for Luke Sanders, faced Chris Gutiérrez on August 1, 2020, at .[9] The fight ended in draw.[10]
Dropping down to flyweight, Durden was scheduled to face Jimmy Flick on December 5, 2020 at . However, Durden was prevented from competing after being diagnosed with conjunctivitis, and the bout was postponed to take place on December 19, 2020, at .[11] He lost the bout via flying triangle choke in the first round.[12]
Durden faced Aori Qileng on November 20, 2021, at .[13] He won the bout via unanimous decision[14]
Durden faced Muhammad Mokaev on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204.[15] He lost the fight via guillotine choke in round one.[16]
Durden faced JP Buys on June 25, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 38.[17] He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.[18]
Durden was expected to face Kleydson Rodrigues on October 29, 2022, at . However, Rodrigues withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champion Carlos Mota on four day's notice.[19] Durden won the bout via unanimous decision.[20]
Durden faced Charles Johnson on April 29, 2023, at .[21] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[22]
Durden was scheduled to face Bruno Gustavo da Silva on September 23, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 228. However, the bout was canceled as Durden instead faced Jake Hadley at on August 5, 2023 as a result of Hadley's original opponent,Tagir Ulanbekov, being unable to compete.[23] Durden defeated Hadley by unanimous decision.[24]
Durden faced Tagir Ulanbekov on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296.[25] He lost the fight via a face crank submission in the second round.[26]
Durden was scheduled to face Carlos Hernandez on June 29, 2024, at UFC 303.[27] However, Durden was pulled from the event for unknown reasons and was replaced by Rei Tsuruya.[28] Later in an interview, Durden said in an interview that the reason for withdrawal was an issue with a banned substance from a possibly contaminated supplement, from which he was subsequently exonerated.[29]
Durden ended up facing Bruno Gustavo da Silva and on July 20, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 60.[30] He lost the fight by technical knockout in the second round.[31]
Durden has a son (born 2011) from a previous relationship and is a stepfather for his current wife's daughter.[32] [33]
|-|Loss|align=center|16–6–1|Bruno Gustavo da Silva|TKO (punches)| | |align=center|2|align=center|2:58|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Loss|align=center|16–5–1|Tagir Ulanbekov|Submission (face crank) |UFC 296||align=center|2|align=center|4:25 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Win|align=center|16–4–1|Jake Hadley|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Nashville, Tennessee, United States||-|Win|align=center||Charles Johnson|Decision (unanimous)| | |align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Win|align=center|14–4–1|Carlos Mota|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Win|align=center|13–4–1|JP Buys|TKO (punches)|||align=center|1|align=center|1:08|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Loss|align=center|12–4–1|Muhammad Mokaev|Submission (guillotine choke)|||align=center|1|align=center|0:58|London, England||-|Win|align=center|12–3–1|Aori Qileng|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-| Loss| align=center|11–3–1|Jimmy Flick|Submission (flying triangle choke)|||align=center|1|align=center|3:18|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-| Draw| align=center|11–2–1|Chris Gutiérrez|Draw (unanimous)| ||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-| Win| align=center| 11–2| John Sweeney|TKO (punches)|NFC 125||align=center|1|align=center|1:20|Conyers, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center| 10–2|Varon Webb| Submission (rear-naked choke)|NFC 124| | align=center| 1| align=center| 3:17| Atlanta, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center|9–2| Dre Miley|TKO (strikes)|Valor Fighting Challenge 66||align=center|2|align=center|4:37|Knoxville, Tennessee, United States||-| Win| align=center|8–2| Jeremy Rogers| Submission (armbar)|Valor Fighting Challenge 59|| align=center|1| align=center|0:59|Kodak, Tennessee, United States||-| Win| align=center|7–2| Dylan Schulte|TKO (slam)|SCL: Army vs Marines 10||align=center|1|align=center|0:30|Loveland, Colorado, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 6–2| Todd Monroe| Submission (armbar)| 864 Fighting Championship 9| | align=center| 3| align=center| 4:56| Duluth, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center| 5–2| Todd Monroe|TKO (punches)|864 Fighting Championship 5||align=center|1|align=center|3:15|Greenville, South Carolina, United States||-| Loss| align=center|4–2|Ryan Hollis|Submission (rear-naked choke)|864 Fighting Championship 3||align=center|2|align=center|3:39|Greenville, South Carolina, United States||-| Loss| align=center|4–1|Jared Scoggins|Decision (unanimous)|NFC 97||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Duluth, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center| 4–0| Dave Morgan|Submission (guillotine choke)|NFC 92||align=center|1|align=center|0:39|Kennesaw, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center|3–0| Devante Sewell|Decision (unanimous)| NFC 88||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Atlanta, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center|2–0| Damarcus Holmes| Submission (rear-naked choke)|NFC 85|| align=center|1| align=center|1:01|Kennesaw, Georgia, United States||-| Win| align=center|1–0| Marcus Levester| TKO (punches)|NFC 83||align=center|1|align=center|1:30|Atlanta, Georgia, United States| [34]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Justin Tyler Parker | 4 | April 27, 2019 | ||||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Isidro Guzman | 4 | March 9, 2019 | ||||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Matt Murphy | 4 | August 11, 2018 | ||||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Andre Knighten | 4 | December 9, 2017 |