Darren Elkins continues to rack up the wins, as he edged out Dennis Bermudez in the UFC on FOX 25 co-main event in New York.
In the co-main event of UFC on FOX 25, Long Island, New York’s Dennis Bermudez sought a win in front of his home fans, as he took on fellow featherweight contender Darren Elkins. It was by no means an easy fight to score, as each had their moments and a lot of grueling grappling exchanges, and unsurprisingly the end result was a split decision. Elkins has won five in a row, while Bermudez suffers his second straight defeat, and the road back to title contention is even longer for the Long Island native.
Bermudez began the fight with a flying knee, but it didn’t land. Elkins buckled on a hard leg kick from “The Menace.” A head kick from Bermudez came up short and Elkins tried to take the back and land some ground shots. Elkins was twice able to momentarily put Bermudez on the mat, all while keeping busy with strikes. Bermudez escaped and then missed on a superman punch. Elkins took Bermudez’s back in a scramble after a successful takedown, locking in a body triangle. Bermudez stood back up and Elkins lost the position. Elkins absorbed a knee and then slammed Bermudez to the mat. Bermudez reversed the position and cracked Elkins with a left hook. Elkins searched for a front choke but bailed on it as time expired to end round 1.
Round 2 began with Bermudez firing away absolute heaters for right hands before transitioning into a double-leg, which Elkins stuffed. Elkins connected on a nice straight right on the chain of Bermudez. “The Damage” threw a knee to the head in the clinch, then Bermudez barely missed connecting on a spinning backfist. Bermudez worked some combination punching and then stopped a couple of Elkins shots. The next takedown attempt was Bermudez’s, as he put Elkins on the seat of his pants. Elkins used the whizzer to get up. The ensuing clinch battle came to a relative stalemate, with neither man able to generate major offense. Elkins countered another Bermudez takedown with a guillotine choke, and he used the front head lock to control Dennis and throw some knees, then he scrambled to the tight-waist bodylock. He dumped Bermudez to the ground but quickly lost position and they were up against the fence again. Bermudez slipped throwing a knee and Elkins took his back for a few seconds before the horn sounded to signal the end of round 2.
Bermudez mixed up his boxing selection in round 3, landing to the head and body of Elkins. Another clinch was initiated and Bermudez was able to reverse Elkins against the fence. Bermudez was the definitively better striker in round 3, particularly with his quick right hand. He was also able to keep his range more effectively so that Elkins couldn’t tie him up. Elkins was hurt by a left hook and Bermudez remained on the attack. Elkins missed on a front kick and then failed on a takedown to close out this tightly-contested battle.
Official result: Darren Elkins def. Dennis Bermudez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)