Well I tore my meniscus, tore my MCL when I
got the first takedown & fractured my fibula in the fight… but I
still had a great vacation in the Turks and Caicos with my family
pic.twitter.com/voVpA4LtLD— Darren Elkins (@DarrenElkinsMMA)
December 16, 2022
Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite
“The Damage” Darren
Elkins put his nickname to the test in his last fight.
In early December, Elkins (27-11) faced off against Jonathan
Pearce (14-4) at UFC on ESPN 42. Elkins made it to the final
horn to ultimately lose a unanimous decision, but not before
suffering a myriad of injuries and absorbing heavy damage from bell
to bell. While the lacerations and ample plasma deposits across the
Octagon floor looked daunting, the major issues for Elkins occurred
internally. According to Elkins on social media on
Thursday, he tore his meniscus and MCL when landing a takedown in
Round 1, and also fractured his fibula sometime during the
melee.
Accompanying a photograph of him sitting in a wheelchair on a pier,
Elkins wrote: “Well I tore my meniscus, tore my MCL when I got the
first takedown & fractured my fibula in the fight…but I still had a
great vacation in the Turks and Caicos with my family.”
Partway through Round 3 of the Elkins-Pearce match, the doctors
came in to check on Elkins’ condition. The blood flow was
significant, but Elkins informed the physician repeatedly that he
could continue. By then, much of the damage had been done to his
leg or legs, but the 38-year-old veteran toughed it out to go the
full 15 minutes.
Many in the MMA community wished him well, including training
partners Clay Guida,
Josh
Emmett and Chris
Holdsworth. Other noteworthy competitors like Sergio
Pettis and Derek
Brunson wished him well and praised him for his toughness and
“warrior spirit.” Dating back the last several years, Elkins has
averaged just under two fights per year. That rate may drop
depending on the length of the Team Alpha Male fighter’s recovery,
which has not yet been disclosed. Once on a four-fight skid, Elkins
has since turned things around to prevail in three of his last
five.