#2 Was Darren Elkins's comeback the best in UFC history?
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Darren Elkins came into last night’s fight with Mirsad Bektic as the biggest underdog on the card.
A tough veteran who's been around since 2010, Elkins has done and seen it all in the UFC. He's turned away prospects like Diego Brandao and Chas Skelly, but he's also been pretty firmly beaten before by top contenders like Chad Mendes and Charles Oliveira.
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Last night he looked to be heading the same way. The feeling coming in was that Bektic was a possible future title contender, if not a title holder. With his ruthless brand of striking, takedowns and ground strikes, he was largely recognised as the best prospect in the division.
The first round especially was disastrous for Elkins. He was being lit up on the feet and when Bektic took him down, he put a horrendous beating on him with his trademark ground-and-pound.
By the end of the round, Elkins was a bloody mess.
The second and third rounds didn't get much better for him, but he was able to hang in there, gaining some good positions at times and slowly but surely, Bektic looked like he was getting tired.
As the clock ticked down in the third round, Elkins managed to take Bektic's back while the two jockeyed for position on the cage, and from there he landed a heavy right hand, another right and then a wild kick to the head that sent Bektic down face-first.
Unbelievably, the hot prospect was unconscious. Elkins gave a bloody, primal roar in celebration - an image that sums up his UFC career. To me, this was one of the best comebacks in UFC history - up there with the improbable wins from Tim Boetsch and Mike Russow over Yushin Okami and Todd Duffee.
Elkins won't ever contend for the title, but while he can pull out wins like this, he'll always be in or around the top of the division as the toughest gatekeeper around. This was one of the most memorable wins in some time.
