Darren Elkins

Del Valle ended Elkins's UFC career in 35 seconds, defending an immediate takedown attempt before landing the left hand that produced the first-round TKO.

Key moments

• The first takedown attempt was shut down and del Valle landed a knee to the head.
• A short left hook wobbled Elkins before a second left hand dropped him.
• The referee stopped the fight at 0:35 of round one.

Erosa hurt Elkins with punches along the fence and finished him early in the opening round at UFC 314, snapping Elkins's two-fight winning streak.

Key moments

• Erosa hurt Elkins with punches along the fence in round one.
• The finish came by TKO (elbow and punches) at 4:15 of round one.
• The loss ended a two-fight winning streak built on wins over T.J. Brown and Daniel Pineda.

Elkins out-worked Daniel Pineda over three rounds for a unanimous decision, extending his winning streak to two fights.

Key moments

• Won a unanimous decision after three rounds.
• The win followed his October 2023 submission finish of T.J. Brown.
• It extended Elkins's winning streak to two straight fights heading into the Julian Erosa loss.

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.

Elkins snapped a four-fight losing streak by grinding down Luiz Eduardo Garagorri over three rounds, absorbing punches and kicks at range before locking in a rear-naked choke midway through round three.

Key moments

• Elkins took Garagorri down 20 seconds into the fight and returned him to the mat each time he stood.
• Garagorri had his best success with punches and kicks at distance, particularly in round two.
• Elkins turned aside a Garagorri knee attempt in round three and finished with a rear-naked choke at 2:22.

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.

A rising Alexander Volkanovski out-pointed Elkins over three rounds in Boise, part of the future UFC featherweight champion's climb up the rankings.

Key moments

• Volkanovski controlled the pace on the feet across the three rounds.
• Elkins looked for his usual forward pressure and grappling but could not find sustained control.
• All three judges scored the bout for Volkanovski, who went on to become UFC featherweight champion.

Elkins survived an early rocking from Michael Johnson, then reversed momentum in round two with a takedown and back-take, extending his win streak to six with a Performance of the Night rear-naked-choke finish.

Key moments

• Johnson rocked Elkins early with sharp left hands and denied his takedown attempts in round one.
• Elkins scored a takedown in the opening minute of round two and took Johnson's back in a scramble.
• Elkins finished with a rear-naked choke at 2:22 of round two and earned Performance of the Night.

Elkins used his length and early takedowns to edge Dennis Bermudez in a close, back-and-forth fight on Long Island, taking a split decision that came down to a second-round swing in momentum.

Key moments

• Elkins earned takedowns and held top control through rounds one and two.
• Bermudez rallied and the fight tightened around the midway point of round two.
• Two judges scored it 29-28 for Elkins; the third judge scored it for Bermudez.

A significant underdog, Elkins absorbed ten minutes of one-sided punishment and a bad cut from Mirsad Bektic before turning the fight around late, landing a right hand and head kick for one of the most improbable comeback knockouts in UFC history.

Key moments

• Bektic dominated the first two rounds with ground-and-pound and opened a bad cut over Elkins's eye.
• Elkins pressed forward in round three, wearing Bektic down against the cage.
• A right hand followed by a head kick dropped Bektic for the finish at 3:19 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 weathered an early flurry from a streaking Chas Skelly, then took over with his wrestling for a clear unanimous decision on the UFC 196 preliminary card.

Key moments

• Skelly, on a four-fight win streak coming in, landed shots early in round one.
• Elkins took over from there, controlling the pace with his grappling.
• Judges scored it lopsidedly for Elkins: 30-27, 29-27 and 30-26.

Elkins rebounded from his decision loss to Hacran Dias by outworking Robert Whiteford over three full rounds in Dublin for a unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Elkins came into the fight off a decision loss to Hacran Dias the previous December.
• Whiteford, on a two-fight UFC win streak, could not match Elkins's pace over three rounds.
• All three judges sided with Elkins across the full 15 minutes.

Dias's takedowns and top control in Sao Paulo carried him past Elkins on the scorecards, though Elkins nearly rallied late, reaching full mount with unanswered punches in the closing seconds of round three.

Key moments

• Dias landed power punches and scored takedowns in all three rounds.
• Elkins struggled to generate offense for most of the fight.
• Elkins rallied late in round three, advancing to full mount and landing punches, but it was not enough on the scorecards.

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 Charles Oliveira's UFC debut, Elkins scored an early slam takedown but was caught in a fast-developing triangle-to-armbar and tapped just 41 seconds into the fight.

Key moments

• Elkins scored a big slam takedown into guard early in the fight.
• Oliveira worked from the bottom into a triangle choke and transitioned it into an armbar.
• Elkins tapped to the armbar at 0:41 of round one.

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.