Darren Elkins

The Damage

USA

Vintage performance in win
FeatherweightUFC
October 20, 2024
Elkins defeated Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
If you've seen one Elkins fight, you've seen them all. There is no man on the UFC roster tougher, nor betting equipped to fight through difficult situations. As is often the case, "The Damage" dropped Round 1 here. Yet, he was able to stick with it and outworked his opponent over the course of the final 10 minutes to earn the decision win. Both men would walk away with $50,000 bonuses after this matchup was given Fight of the Night honors. Elkins is nearing the end of the line at age 40, but he's 3-1 in his past four fights dating back to April 2022. There's some gas left in the tank here as long as the UFC remains exceedingly careful regarding the level of competition it matches him up against moving forward.
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Fighting Pineda in October
FeatherweightUFC
September 1, 2024
Elkins will take on Daniel Pineda at a UFC event in Las Vegas on October 19, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Elkins will take on Pineda in his first bout since undergoing surgery on his broken leg in December. The 40-year-old American will look to use his experience in the ring along with a size and reach advantage to take down the 39-year-old Pineda, who will be looking to turn things around coming off back-to-back losses in his two most recent bouts. Elkins will head into the fight coming off a submission victory over TJ Brown in his most recent bout last October.
Set for leg surgery
FeatherweightUFC
December 17, 2023
Elkins underwent leg surgery and doesn't have a timetable for his return to the octagon, MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Elkins will undergo surgery after suffering a "freak accident," as he described it on social media. "I snapped my tibia and fibula in my right leg by freak accident during jiu-jitsu last night," Elkins wrote. "Just got out of surgery where they put a nail in my leg." Elkins, who owns a 28-11 pro record but is 39 years old, most recently competed this past October at a UFC APEX event in Las Vegas, where he defeated TJ Brown via third-round submission.
Vintage performance in win
FeatherweightUFC
October 14, 2023
Elkins defeated TJ Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:23 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It was a vintage performance from the 39-year-old Elkins, as his heart and toughness were on display throughout the course of the fight. Darren understandably struggles in prolonged striking exchanges in his advanced age, so he leaned on his grappling in this fight, and Brown appeared more than willing to allow him to do so. The end result was 5-of-8 successful takedown attempts for 8:09 worth of control time and the rear-naked choke which ended the fight. Clearly showing he has some gas left in the tank, Elkins has alternated wins and losses in his past five fights.
Next fight scheduled
FeatherweightUFC
August 24, 2023
Elkins will compete against TJ Brown in a featherweight fight at UFC Vegas 81 on Oct. 14, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
This could be Elkins' first and likely only fight of 2023. He last fought in December, losing to Jonathan Pearce via decision at UFC on ESPN 42. Elkins will try to prevent his first losing streak since a bad four-fight run he underwent in 2020.
Not competitive in Orlando
FeatherweightUFC
December 3, 2022
Elkins lost to Jonathan Pearce via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 26-30) at UFC on ESPN 42 on Saturday in Orlando.
ANALYSIS
It was Elkins' 25th appearance with the UFC -- the most in featherweight history for the company. It did not go well. Going up against a younger, more talented opponent, "The Damage" displayed his trademark toughness and not much else. Left a bloody mess by the time it was all said and done, it's nothing short of a minor miracle Darren saw the final bell. Elkins is now 38 years of age and has been in countless wars over the years. He's 3-2 in his past five fights, so there's clearly some gas left in the tank, but the UFC is going to have to be extremely regarding who they match him up against moving forward. They didn't do that here.