How Tim Elliott endured suicide of coach

Two weeks before his fight vs. Mark De La Rosa on the UFC 219 Fight Pass prelims, Tim Elliott found out his coach Robert Follis committed suicide. Elliott slipped into what he termed a self-destructive path drinking, staying out late, and not doing the things that a professional athlete should be doing. That continued right into fight week, when he arrived without his coaches.

That was a mistake I made, said Elliott backstage to Simon Samano and Ken Hathaway for MMAjunkie. I should’ve never come out here without my coaches. As soon as my coaches got here on Tuesday, they slapped a little sense into me and put me back on the right path.

They didn’t have to say anything. I knew what I was doing wasn’t right. The whole reason why I love Robert Follis so much, he holds his guys accountable. He’s on the phone every day: ‘What are you doing? what are you eating? What are you drinking? How much are you sleeping?’ And that’s one of the reasons why I came out here to be around him.

Elliott did his coach proud, winning via submission in Round 2, and earning a $50,000 performance bonus. The emotional pressure pre-fight was such that Elliott did practice walkouts on Saturday morning.

I feel like that really helped me prepare to get out there without getting too emotional, said Elliott. I didn’t want to have a doubt before I got in the cage. I still had a bit of an adrenaline dump when I got in there, but I have good guys in my corner. Even though Robert Follis isn’t here yelling at me, everything that he ever said to me is still in my head. It’s still very fresh in my mind.

I feel good that I got the win. But I don’t feel like it was enough.

Everything he ever said to me is still in my head. I’m not the smartest guy. I’m good at taking orders. I just wish that I would’ve listened a little more, and I wish I had a little more time. The time that I did have with him was very special. I never questioned anything that he ever said to me, and I wouldn’t question anything after what he’s done.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan offered Elliott the mic post win to say what he felt about the loss of his coach.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/947268700318642176

Robert Follis, I love you,” said Elliott. “Thank you for everything.