LAS VEGAS – Darren Elkins beat Darrick Minner with a second-round TKO Saturday on the main card at UFC on ESPN 27 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Elkins, who has back-to-back wins after a career-worst four-fight skid.
Elkins on the fight’s key moment
“I knew. When I got on top of him, I just felt him take that deep breath. He went for that takedown in the second round, and it was a nice takedown. Then we got in a little bit of a scramble and I felt him getting weaker and weaker. … When you show that weakness to me, because I’ve got cardio for days, I’m going to turn it up. I’m just turning up gears in the second. The first round is never my round. … That’s never my best round. It’s the second and third. It’s like I’m switching gears – I’m a diesel engine.”
𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑬 does it again! 😤 #UFCVegas32 pic.twitter.com/YayQyATi3w
— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2021
Elkins on getting past the first round
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 24: (R-L) Darren Elkins punches Darrick Minner in their featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on July 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“When it comes to pure will, I’m the toughest guy you’ll ever meet with that. He threw everything at me but the kitchen sink, and I survived. I think that deterred him a little bit. … Going into this fight I knew, he has a lot of first-round finishes. … I knew that first round was going to be rough.
“I sat down with my coaches and they said, ‘Survive the first round. If you survive the first round, the chances of you winning goes up 80 percent. … I can endure. I’m a durable guy, so I felt OK in there.”
Elkins on what he wants next
“I’d like to get back in there around October, maybe a little bit sooner. I’d rather fight sooner … This was my first fight of the year. I wanted to fight sooner, but I had a little bit of an injury problem. But let’s just keep the momentum going – two in a row now, and I’d really like to fight one more time this year.
“I need to sit down and look at (who to fight next). I was just focused on this. You get a little ahead of yourself sometimes and I feel like it’s a death wish. … I’m going to sit down in the next week or so and get some names in my head and we’ll start calling out some people. I’m not looking for a top-10 opponent. That’s two in a row after coming off four in a row that I lost. I’d like another fun matchup, maybe a seasoned veteran like me. That makes sense.”
To hear more from Elkins, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.