Featherweight Jeremy Stephens faced off against Darren Elkins in the opening fight of the UFC on Fox 10 main card. Stephens took over the fight from the opening bell. Throughout the three-round bout he outlanded Elkins standing and avoided almost all danger on the ground. His performance earned him the unanimous decision victory.
They stayed even in striking exchanges early in the first round until Stephens hit a takedown off a caught kick. He couldn’t get anything going and let Elkins return to his feet. A solid right hook landed by Stephens, but Elkins was unfazed and clinched up. He was unable to get the takedown and ate an uppercut when they returned to the center of the Octagon. They finished the round standing with Stephens landing the better shots.
Stephens held the momentum into the second round. He missed a lot f his winging hooks, but still managed to land hard and more consistently than Elkins. Darren had some success with a clinch against the cage, but couldn’t take the advantage before Stephens escaped. Back in open space, Stephens continued to land opening a cut under Elkins’ right eye.
An early takedown from Stephens to start the final round. Elkins grabbed a guillotine choke to counter and used it to return to his feet. On the feet, Elkins was not able to land solidly and continued to get marked up by Stephens. Late in the round, Elkins was able to grab hold of Stephens and grab another guillotine attempt. He had the choke in from mount, but ran out of time to finish as the bell rang.
Jeremy Stephens takes the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2) over Darren Elkins.
Stephens stepped into the Octagon looking to earn only the second three-fight win streak of his 18 bout UFC career. Elkins was looking to earn his second consecutive win since losing to Chad Mendes at UFC on Fox 7.
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