At UFC 314, one of the most durable fighters in the history of the sport returns to the Octagon in Miami.
Some of the biggest names on the roster are set to be in action at the Kaseya Center on April 12 with a new featherweight champion being crowned when Alexander Volkanovski collides with Diego Lopes.
The co-main event of the evening sees two of the boldest characters in the sport meet at a crossroads as Paddy Pimblett looks to secure the biggest win of his career against Michael Chandler.
Earlier on in the night is a fighter who may not have titles next to his name but he has an equally iconic moment that will forever be tied to his legacy.
Joe Rogan has witnessed some incredible things during his tenure as a UFC commentator but what Darren Elkins did at UFC 309 really struck an emotional chord with one of the voices of the sport.
Joe Rogan got emotional when retelling the story of Darren Elkins’ comeback win over Mirsad Bektic
With 15 UFC fights already under his belt, Darren Elkins was a veteran of the Octagon as far back as 2017 having faced the likes of Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira.
The incredibly durable and stubborn American was riding a three-fight win streak heading into UFC 209 which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in March of that year.
With Elkins occupying the #14-ranking, he met the undefeated #13-ranked Mirsad Bektic on the prelims as a huge underdog.
Bektic’s status as the sizeable favorite looked to be correct from an early stage in the fight as he totally dominated the opening round with his grappling and sliced Elkins up from the top position.
Elkins was bleeding a lot after the first five minutes but the second round didn’t get any easier for him as Bektic continued to have his way.
The tables started to turn in the third and final round because Bektic started to slow down whilst Elkins continued to push forwards like a zombie.
‘The Damage’ continued to put the pressure on his opponent before landing a huge head kick that folded Bektic over on his head, releasing what can only be defined as pure emotion in the immediate aftermath of the stoppage.
During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience where he was joined by Invicta’s Julie Kedzie, Rogan looked back at this moment when talking about the emotional highs and lows of the sport.
Rogan knew that even retelling these events would make him emotional and that’s exactly what happened.
“When Darren Elkins beat Mirsad Bektic, it’s so hard for me not to cry inside the Octagon. It was so hard! I’ll start welling up right now. When I was interviewing him after that fight, I was like that guy just emptied out, I mean emptied out his whole soul. He took a f—— beating for two and a half rounds and didn’t give up an inch.
“There was no quit in him, nothing, zero and then finally, in the third round, he catches that guy and there’s this f—— roar that he did after that fight was stopped where he throws his arms back and he’s moving around the cage and screaming, he’s covered in blood, like right there. Gonna have to wipe tears out of my eyes right now.”
Darren Elkins is still fighting at the highest level to this day
Now at 40-years-old with 29 UFC outings to his name, Darren Elkins has achieved incredible career longevity ahead of his return at UFC 314.
After beating Mirsad Bektic, Elkins strung together a total of six-consecutive wins before having his streak ended by Alexander Volkanovski who he will share the card with on April 12.
‘The Damage’ has had many difficult moments and patches in his career but he’s currently got back-to-back wins behind him.
He now faces Julian Erosa on the prelims and as he proved back at UFC 209, you can never truly count Elkins out of a fight.
