Darren Elkins

Elkins broke T.J. Brown down over three rounds and closed the show with a rear-naked choke with under three minutes left in the fight, answering the decision loss to Jonathan Pearce ten months earlier.

Key moments

• Finished Brown by rear-naked choke at 2:23 of round three.
• The stoppage came in the final round of a grinding, pressure-heavy fight.
• The result answered the Jonathan Pearce decision loss from December 2022.

Pearce out-pointed Elkins over three rounds for a unanimous decision, handing him a loss seven months after his decision win over Tristan Connelly.

Key moments

• Lost a unanimous decision after three rounds.
• The defeat followed Elkins's April 2022 decision win over Tristan Connelly.
• Elkins answered the loss the following October by finishing T.J. Brown.

Elkins won a unanimous decision over Tristan Connelly, rebounding from the first-round TKO loss to Cub Swanson four months earlier.

Key moments

• Won a unanimous decision after three rounds.
• The win followed Elkins's December 2021 first-round TKO loss to Cub Swanson.
• It was Elkins's only fight of the first half of 2022; he lost a decision to Jonathan Pearce that December.

Cub Swanson picked Elkins apart from range at UFC Vegas 45, then dropped him with a spinning wheel kick and finished with follow-up punches early in round one.

Key moments

• Swanson controlled distance on the feet while Elkins pressed forward looking for the clinch.
• A spinning wheel kick landed clean and buckled Elkins along the fence.
• Swanson followed up with punches for the TKO stoppage at 2:12 of round one.

Elkins survived a one-sided opening round in which Minner took him down repeatedly and hunted submissions, then turned the fight around in round two, trapping a gassed Minner beneath him for a ground-and-pound stoppage.

Key moments

• Minner took Elkins down multiple times in round one and attempted an armbar.
• Minner tired badly by round two, and a scramble left him trapped on the bottom.
• Elkins opened up with ground-and-pound until referee Mark Smith stopped it at 3:48 of round two.

Nate Landwehr out-pointed Elkins over three rounds on the prelims in Jacksonville, briefly catching him in a guillotine after Elkins had taken him down, and extended Elkins's stretch without a win to four fights.

Key moments

• Elkins connected with counter rights and a left hook before working Landwehr to the cage for a takedown.
• Landwehr swept out of Elkins's ground-and-pound and briefly had a guillotine choke.
• All three judges scored the fight for Landwehr, Elkins's fourth straight fight without a win since 2018.

Hall put on a striking clinic in Sacramento, dropping Elkins repeatedly across three rounds en route to a lopsided decision, and drew boos from the crowd for a passive final round.

Key moments

• Hall repeatedly dropped Elkins with strikes over the course of the fight.
• Hall largely declined to engage for much of round three, and the Sacramento crowd booed the tactic.
• All three judges scored it for Hall, who out-landed Elkins 40 strikes to 31 overall.

Lamas dominated Elkins everywhere in the cage on the UFC's first card in Buenos Aires, and a bloodied Elkins never turned the tide before Lamas forced a stoppage with a minute left in the fight.

Key moments

• Elkins bled heavily and absorbed heavy punishment across the first two-plus rounds.
• Lamas controlled the fight on the feet and on the ground throughout.
• A final salvo of punches, elbows and hammerfists forced the TKO stoppage at 4:09 of round three.

Elkins overwhelmed Godofredo Castro (known in the cage as Pepey) on the feet and on the mat in Chicago, out-striking him by a wide margin and landing every takedown attempt for a clear-cut decision.

Key moments

• Elkins out-struck Pepey by a wide margin across the fight, roughly 144 to 63 in total strikes.
• Elkins landed all five of his takedown attempts and controlled him on the mat.
• All three judges scored it for Elkins, 29-27, 29-27 and 30-26.

Elkins controlled Lucas Martins for much of an exhausting three-round fight at UFC 179, needing the win after losing two of his previous three, and escaped with a split decision.

Key moments

• Elkins scored a takedown in round one and pressed the pace throughout the fight.
• Elkins landed only about 38 percent of his strikes as Martins prevented any truly damaging blows.
• Judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 27-30 for Elkins.

Stephens mauled Elkins on the feet and stuffed his takedowns for three rounds in Chicago, taking a clear unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Stephens landed power punches and shut down Elkins's takedown attempts throughout the fight.
• Elkins struggled to get Stephens down despite the wrestling advantage on paper.
• The fight went the full three rounds and was scored unanimously for Stephens.

Elkins weathered a heavy start from former Shooto and Sengoku champion Hatsu Hioki, then took over with takedowns and ground-and-pound over the final two rounds for a unanimous decision in Indianapolis.

Key moments

• Hioki rocked Elkins early with body kicks in round one.
• Elkins recovered and scored takedowns in rounds two and three.
• All three judges scored it 29-28 for Elkins.

Mendes stopped Elkins early with a right hand followed by a finishing right to the temple, ending the fight before Elkins could establish his usual pressure.

Key moments

• Mendes opened with a leg kick, then caught Elkins with a right hand that sent him toward the fence.
• Mendes rushed to capitalize with a huge right hand to the temple.
• Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 1:08 of round one as Elkins struggled to get up.

Elkins finished Antonio Carvalho early with strikes on the UFC 158 card in Montreal.

Key moments

• Elkins pressed forward from the opening bell.
• He landed a steady stream of punches that hurt Carvalho.
• The fight was stopped by TKO (punches) at 3:06 of round one.

Elkins took Steven Siler down repeatedly and controlled him on the mat for all three rounds at UFC 154, hunting submissions throughout on the way to a shutout decision.

Key moments

• Elkins scored takedowns in every round and held a body triangle from the back for most of round two.
• He pulled guard and briefly locked up a choke attempt in round one.
• All three judges scored it 30-27 for Elkins, his fourth straight UFC featherweight win.

Elkins used his wrestling and ground-and-pound to edge a dangerous Diego Brandao at UFC 146, surviving a diving overhand right and taking a close unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Brandao nearly finished the fight with a diving overhand right that Elkins survived.
• Elkins controlled much of the fight with takedowns and top pressure.
• He secured mount and landed heavy ground-and-pound late in round two en route to a unanimous decision.

Zhang repeatedly threatened with a guillotine choke across all three rounds at UFC 136, but Elkins escaped each attempt and used top control to win a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Zhang latched on a guillotine choke in round one and again multiple times in round two before Elkins escaped each time to top position.
• A tight guillotine attempt in round three again had Elkins in danger before he worked free and returned to top position.
• Elkins controlled him on the ground for most of the fight, winning 30-27, 30-26 and 30-27.

In his featherweight debut, Elkins won a controversial unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa in a fight many observers, including then-UFC president Dana White, felt should have gone the other way.

Key moments

• Elkins landed more often in round one while Omigawa picked him apart with power shots in round two.
• Round three was widely seen as a clear round for Omigawa.
• Judges scored it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Elkins, and Dana White said afterward he thought Omigawa had won.

In his UFC debut, Elkins picked up a quick win when Duane Ludwig suffered a severe ankle injury during a takedown exchange, forcing an early stoppage.

Key moments

• The fight took place on the preliminary card of Elkins's UFC debut.
• Ludwig suffered a serious ankle injury during a takedown exchange.
• The fight was stopped at 0:44 of round one, the finish credited as a TKO due to injury.