Darren Elkins will be taking on Darrick Minner at UFC Vegas 32 this weekend. The two men have a combined 71 professional fights and will be looking to extend their win streaks this weekend. UFC Vegas 32 will be headlined by T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen in what seems like a title eliminator. Dillashaw will be making his long-awaited return after a two-year suspension by USADA.
Darren Elkins
Darren Elkins has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestled at a Division II school in college. Elkins has a professional record of 25-9 with 12 of those wins being decisions. Darren Elkins has been fighting in the UFC since 2010 and has racked up a 15-8 record in that time. He will be coming into this fight with Minner with a 3-inch height and a 2-inch reach advantage. This will be beneficial for Elkins because he is known to throw caution to the wind and brawl with his opponents. If Elkins uses his wrestling and keeps Minner at the end of his strikes, that size advantage will be extremely beneficial.
Darren Elkins has only been submitted once in his career and that was against Charles Oliveira in 2010. Only two men have been able to knock Elkins out in the UFC and those men were Ricardo Lamas and Chad Mendes. In his time with the UFC, Elkins holds wins over guys like Michael Johnson, Dennis Bermudez, Mirsad Bektic, and Duane Ludwig.
Darrick Minner
Darrick Minner holds a professional MMA record of 26-11. His professional career started in 2012 but he did not get his shot in the UFC until 2020. He is currently 2-1 in the UFC losing his debut to Grant Dawson. Minner’s two UFC wins include a submission over T.J. Laramie and a decision over Charles Rosa. Prior to getting in the UFC, Minner had fought many UFC caliber fighters such as Clay Collard, Kevin Croom, Jordan Griffin, Terrance McKinney, and Luke Sanders.
22 of Minner’s 26 professional wins came by way of submission. Eight of his 11 losses are also by submission. Only four of Minner’s 37 professional fights have gone the distance and he is 4-1 in those fights. Before getting his shot in the UFC, Minner was on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019 but he got submitted in the first round by Herbert Burns. Minner has power in his striking but there is no secret that his biggest weapon is his submissions. Minner knows how to turn a regular fight into a dogfight and catch his opponent slipping. He will need to get the better of the grappling exchanges and stay off his back against a good wrestler like Elkins.
UFC Vegas 31 Fight Card
Main Card:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
- Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
- Kyler Phillips vs. Raulian Paiva
- Darren Elkins vs. Darrick Minner
- Miranda Maverick vs. Maycee Barber
- Mickey Gall vs. Jordan Williams
Preliminary Card:
- Punahele Soriano vs. Brendan Allen
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Ian Heinisch
- Randy Costa vs. Adrian Yanez
- Juilo Arce vs. Andre Ewell
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Elise Reed
- Diana Belbita vs. Hannah Goldy
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