No scrubs? It's 'Yo scrubs!' for first-time UFC winner Darrius Flowers
After he got his first UFC win after an 0-3 start, Darrius Flowers wants to show a little TLC to some unheralded lightweights far from the rankings.
If ever there was a time a fighter might be able to get away with a "Cut me a little slack, would ya? " comment, it might be with Darrius Flowers four fights into his UFC career. Flowers earlier this month finally got off the schneid in the UFC after three straight losses to start his run in the promotion.
Flowers (13-8-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) put away Lando Vannata (12-8-2 MMA, 4-8-2 UFC) with a second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 272. It was another solid opponent in name recognition for Flowers. After he won his way into the UFC on DWCS with a knockout in 2022, he lost his promotional debut to Jake Matthews in a short-notice call-up.
After losses to Michael Johnson and Evan Elder, Flowers almost certainly needed a win against Vannata to keep his job. He'd have gotten at least a $25,000 finish bonus, too – had he made weight. But Flowers missed by a half-pound, which put an asterisk on an otherwise stellar performance.
But now that he's finally got that first UFC win, Flowers thinks he can invoke that aforementioned "Cut me a little slack" request. "I want to fight scrubs next – the easiest fights, the next two fights," Flowers told MMA Junkie Radio. "I deserve to fight the easiest fights.