Tim Elliott has perhaps had one of the wildest rides in recent UFC memory. His first run in the promotion, from 2012 to 2015, ended with a three-fight skid and a pink slip. He immediately won the Titan FC flyweight championship upon his return to the regional scene, defending it twice before the UFC brought him back, as part of The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions.
Elliott went right ahead and won that season, earning a shot at then-champ Demetrious Johnson in the process. He came up short, as so many have, but went 2-1 over his next three fights.
However, Elliott may have been feeling a bit of deja vu heading into UFC Vegas on Saturday. He’d lost his past two fights, albeit to tough opposition in Deiveson Figueiredo and Askar Askarov. This time out, he had promotional newcomer Brandon Royval — who would no doubt love a win over a former title challenger to be his first impression in the promotion.
Round one saw Elliot quickly getting the fight to the mat in top position. Royval did get back up to his feet quickly though. Elliott was just all over Royval getting takedowns while Royval was creating scrambles to get back to his feet. In what was mainly a grappling bout in round one, they were both in awkward positions. Elliott was just relentless with forward pressure and takedowns. As he was the aggressor, Royval did lock in an armbar at the bell and if there were a few more seconds he could have tapped Elliott.
Round two started off with Elliott coming forward but it seemed he pulled guard to let Royval on top. As soon as they hit the mat it was non-stop action. Royval was going for a guillotine but missed and let Elliott get to his feet. It wasn’t long until both engaged back in the grappling going back and forth. Elliott went after a guillotine but failed, which let Royval eventually get the mount. From there he locked in an arm-triangle tapping out Elliott.
WELCOME TO THE UFC @BrandonRoyval 👏
Watch the #UFCVegas action on @ESPN and E+ pic.twitter.com/NYLxHDDUup
— UFC (@ufc) May 30, 2020
Despite the win, Royval appeared downtrodden after the fight, saying he wasn’t happy with his performance. That said, it’s still a big debut win for the promotional newcomer, and he’ll likely feel a bit better about it when all is said and done.
Official Result: Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott by Submission (Arm-Triangle), Round 2, 3:18
