Cody Durden changed his nickname shortly before submitting Matt Schnell on four days’ notice.
Schnell was originally scheduled to face Alessandro Costa in a flyweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 242 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. However, an injured Costa was replaced by Durden and the bout was moved to bantamweight.
After getting rocked in an early exchange, Durden went toe-to-toe in wild slugfests throughout the first round before submitting Schnell with a ninja choke 29 seconds into the second stanza. Durden revealed that he didn’t have much preparation for the fight after having a few extra drinks the previous weekend. Durden spent the whole Monday lazing around, sparred on Tuesday and asked for the short-notice fight, which was granted.
“I didn’t have much preparation,” Durden said during a post-fight media scrum. “I had a few drinks on Sunday, probably more than I should. I laid in bed all day Monday, went back to the gym, sparred five rounds on Tuesday. And I shoot my shot on Twitter and I don’t know what the f—k I’m doing here but I’m here.”
Elaborating on his new nickname, “Custom Made” explains that he likes a variety of things like hunting, fishing and has a diverse taste in music.
“‘Custom Made’ – I’m a little crazy,” he said. “I like country music, I like rap music. I like to deer hunt, I like to go fishing, I’m custom made. I like to do a little bit of everything, listen to all type of music. Yeah, just custom made.”
Asked about a potential return timeline, Durden joked about fighting at UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas next weekend if a replacement is needed.
“Didn’t somebody drop out of the Sphere [UFC 306] next weekend? I’m just playing,” Durden said. “I’m good. I think I’m gonna have some fun tonight. But if they call me and offer me a new contract, I might show up.”
