Jimmy Flick opened his 2024 campaign by marching into the Octagon at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, and submitting Malcolm Gordon, after which the Canadian veteran took off his gloves, laid them down in the center of the cage, and announced his retirement.
It was the Oklahoma native’s first win since returning to the promotion following a two-year pause on his career, and sent him into his second appearance of the year with ambitions of starting a winning streak and building to something even bigger.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.
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“Honestly, it’s heartbreaking,” Flick said of the in-fight injuries that limited him during his June loss to Nate Maness. “We put everything into these fight camps, we want to perform our best, and sometimes our bodies take little injuries.
“It was a struggle to push through. I really did think I broke my rib, but I think it was just a little out of place; there is still a knot on it to this day, but I think it’s good. My knee, I had a light tearand I really wanted to push the wrestling in the second round, but I feel like it slowed me down.

“I showed my toughness, I showed my endurance, I showed everybody I’m here to prove I’m one of the best 125’ers,” he added, finding a silver lining to the decision defeat. “On April 26th I’m gonna prove a point.”
Flick, who takes on Matt Schnell this weekend in Kansas City, has struggled with consistency over the course of his UFC tenure. He earned his contract in the fall of 2020 and scored a flying triangle choke finish of Cody Durden in his debut before stepping away for a couple years to deal with some personal matters.
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He returned in 2023, suffering consecutive stoppage losses to Charles Johnson and Alessandro Costa before splitting his two appearances last year, sending him into Saturday’s contest with the veteran Schnell with a 2-3 mark inside the Octagon and a 17-8 record overall.
Asked what has hindered him in the past, “The Brick” pointed to an interview with former bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley that helped him identify a common misconception that might have been getting in the way of his being the best version of himself come fight night.

“I watched an interview with Sean O’Malley and, as fighters, we think we’ve gotta train constantly, and if we’re not training constantly, we’re not gonna win and we’re not doing enough,” began Flick. “I watched this interview with O’Malley, and he was like, ‘I’ve told myself that I train hard enough that when I do need those days off, I know that I do the training to where I can take a day off here and there so I don’t overtrain.’
"I think that has been my biggest problem,” he said, smiling. “I’m in the UFC, so I would think, ‘I’ve just gotta train, train, train, train,’ but that’s how we get those injuries, especially at my age. Now I’ve been keen on my vitamins, my supplements, my stretching, and I know that I train hard enough and do enough to go out there and perform the way I wanna perform.”
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And what he wants to do is use his wrestling and grappling to dominate.
“I gotta get out there and do what I do best right off the bell, and that’s put them on the back foot,” answered Flick when asked about his approach inside the Octagon. “I gotta use my strikes to get in, mix it up, and even if I don’t get the takedown, get them guessing, get them hands going up and down; start using my feints.

Jimmy Flick trains at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 11, 2023. (Photo by Zac Pacleb)
“I’m gonna maul these guys, and I know I can,” he added with confidence. “I’m not a small 125’er — I know I’m not the biggest 125’er either — but I’m well-rounded, and I think I can submit every fighter in the flyweight division.”
He gets his first chance to back up that statement this weekend when he steps in with the returning Schnell, who left his gloves in the center of the cage following a loss to Durden last September, but has opted to resume competing.
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While he initially wanted to return to action much sooner, Flick realized discretion is the better part of valor, opting instead to ensure that his body was fully healed and ready to go before signing on for his next appearance.
While fights were offered for earlier in the year, the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate forced himself to take a bigger picture view of things, allowing his bigger goals to take priority over his drive to get back into the Octagon and compete.

“I’m about to perform, and once I perform, I’m gonna have two fights left on my contract,” said Flick, laying out his long-term vision for the next couple years. “I want to win these fights, get in the rankings, and really do something in 2025 and 2026.
“I like to set multiple goals, but Goal No. 1 is to beat Matt Schnell,” he continued. “I use that goal and my other goals to keep pushing me in training sessions, and I can’t get to Goal No. 2 and Goal No. 3 if I don’t get through Goal No. 1 first.
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“Everything is on point and I’m doing everything I can (to accomplish Goal No. 1). Once we do that, we’ll focus on the rest of the goals for this year.”
As much as it’s an intriguing stylistic matchup, the fact that it pits two athletes that have previously walked away from competing against one another is an interesting wrinkle to this flyweight clash.

Jimmy Flick prepares to fight Charles Johnson in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on January 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
It’s a situation that rarely occurs, and Flick is one of the few people that could possibly understand some of the emotions his opponent is wrestling with heading into their showdown on Saturday night.
“You don’t want to come back and lose,” he said with a laugh when asked if he has a sense of some of the thoughts that could be going through Schnell’s head as he returns to action. “I’ve been watching this guy since the show Caged, and I knew that I was gonna fight him one day. It’s nothing but respect, but I want to put a stamp on it.
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“If I can go out there and beat Matt, then he puts his gloves down again, that would be the second guy in the UFC I retired,” added Flick, the smile on his face growing wider. “I think there might be a few other guys in the UFC looking to retire, so I might be their guy because that’s what I’m looking to do now.
“I have my eyes on a few things, but the first of those is Matt Schnell, 100 percent.”
Though he’s unquestionably focused on Schnell, there is one other thing Flick is looking forward to this weekend, as well.
“They’ve put me in Kansas City, MO — it’s only four hours away from my hometown,” he said, the excitement evident in his tone. “I’ve got over a hundred people going; I got sponsors on the VIP floor.
“The last time I walked out in front of people, it was in another country and they were not happy to see me, not when I walked in or when I walked out. Kansas City, MO is gonna be on their feet from the time I walk out to the time I walk out of the Octagon after getting my hand raised.”
And how does he see himself getting his hand raised?
“I’m gonna do what I always do: go in there, put him on his back, and prove I’ve got the best jiu-jitsu in the flyweight division.”
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