UFC veteran Darren Elkins explained why he has decided his fight at this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 120 card will be his final walk to the cage.
Elkins, who is 42 years old, has been in the UFC since 2010, and he has an impressive 19-11 record inside the Octagon during that time.
The long-time veteran featherweight known as “The Damage” has been a fan favorite for years because of all the bloody wars that he’s been involved in. But those wars have also taken a toll on Elkins, who has taken far more punishment inside the Octagon than many of his contemporaries.
UFC Veteran Darren Elkins Explains Retirement
Speaking to reporters ahead of his UFC Vegas 120 fight against Yadier del Valle, Elkins explained why he has decided to hang up the gloves, win or lose, following his fight on Saturday.
“I’m older in age now. But mostly I’m starting to get hurt a little bit more often. Getting to train all the time is taking more of a toll on my body than it used to. It’s time. I’ve been contemplating it for a while. I just talked to my family, worked it all out. I’m like, ‘I’ve always wanted to lay my gloves in the octagon and do it where most people don’t get that chance. They either get cut, or they just have to say on social media that they retired. I wanted it to be in the moment, lay my gloves down, and ride off into the sunset,” Elkins said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Darren Elkins Explains Having One Final Fight
After Elkins was smoked by Julian Erosa in his last outing, many fans felt that he should retire immediately, as he looked like a shell of his former self in that matchup.
But according to Elkins, while he knows he had a bad showing against Erosa, he believes that he still has it inside of him to get his hand raised one final time against del Valle. But this is truly it, as he will not fight again, since he promised his family this is the last one, as he has a job as a pipe fitter to fall back on now that his career is coming to an end.
“My last fight didn’t go exactly how I wanted it. I thought it was a really bad fight. I had a lot of injuries going into that fight. That’s why I’ve been out for so long, just recovering. I knew I was going to do this fight. If I was going to do this fight, I’m going to feel good so I can fight really well,” Elkins said.
“It’s one of those things. I have other options. It’s sad, but a lot of these guys think that fighting is the only thing I can do in life. We got other options in life. I’m a union pipe fitter. I’ve done 10 years of pipe fitting while I was fighting. I always knew I was going to be OK. Was it scary? Yeah, life is scary. I don’t want to go back to working a full-time job. I probably won’t go full-time, but I like staying busy. I like making money. I like providing for my family. I don’t want to take so much damage that it’s going to be hard to coach my son and do other things. We sat down and talked about it and said, ‘It’s time to move on.'”
UFC Veteran Darren Elkins Explains Retirement Decision