Tim Elliott came close to the greatest upset in UFC history on Saturday night, sinking not one but two chokes on flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson the greatest pound for pound fighter in mixed martial arts. Elliott had been released by the UFC after losing three in a row and returned via winning TUF 24. His remarkable performance promised some exciting matchups in the division.
However, at the post-fight press conference, Elliott said the the division will be bantamweight, not flyweight.
I was hurting after the first round, said Elliott, as transcribed by Steven Marrocco and John Morgan for MMAjunkie. Not my cardio, but my muscles. My stomach was cramping a little bit, and I know that’s from the weight cut.
“I’d like to go up to [135 pounds],” said Elliott, as transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMA Mania. “The weight cut killed me. The morning of the weight cut I was hurting pretty bad. The first time I’ve ever told my coaches I was done.”
“I told James Krause I wasn’t going back in the sauna. I told him I would give up the 20 percent; I didn’t care about the belt. He made me get back in there.”
“He made me cut the weight, and I appreciate that he did that. But, everything about this sport is fun for me. I do it because it’s fun. It doesn’t pay that well, so I feel like I could really compete at 135, when I feel good and I feel strong.”
Elliott is confident his showing guarantees him another UFC contract, but said he will take what comes.
[UFC President Dana White] told me I wasn’t going anywhere, he said. But you know, I got told that before. [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby told me after my John Dodson fight that if I fight like that, I’ll always have a job in the UFC. And then, a couple fights later, I was cut.
But I don’t really care too much about that. If they don’t want me here, then I can get fired here, and I’ll go fight somewhere else. I’m going to fight no matter what. It doesn’t matter if it’s for the UFC or anywhere else, I’m going to go out on my shield and give it everything I’ve got.
I’m a fighter for the fans. I’m not wearing girl pants and talking trash. I want to get fans through fighting, not anything else. A lot of people [say] it’s not the fight game any more, it’s the entertainment game. But it’s not to me. I love to fight, I love fighting, and nothing makes me happier.
