UFC Vegas 45: Darren Elkins Has Embraced the Blood

Las Vegas, NV — Blood? UFC Vegas 45’s Darren Elkins doesn’t mind it anymore.

“The Damage” fights a fellow UFC veteran and legend Cub Swanson this weekend. The fight could have happened several years ago, but their paths never crossed. Well, it’s finally going down.

Swanson told the media on Wednesday that he would be disappointed if Elkins didn’t bleed in their fight. Elkins guaranteed it would happen even if his opponent just stared at him.

“I’m pretty sure when we walk out there, and he looks across the cage, I’m going to start bleeding. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to worry about that; I just hope he doesn’t look at me too hard because I’m going to be bleeding. It doesn’t take too much,” Elkins said during UFC Vegas 45 media day. “I’m over it, I would start bleeding, and it used to bother me, but I was like, I’m just going to give in to it so that it doesn’t mentally or physically bother me at all. I’m going to be bleeding, it’s going to be hard for me to see, but I’m used to it now.”

Elkins wants to go 2-0 in 2021 and cap off a very strong year for his camp, Team Alpha Male. Quietly, Team Alpha Male has put together a very solid year, winning several fights.

“I feel like the strategy— we’ve always had a little bit of ups and downs, but I feel like this year we’ve had a very solid year. The coaching staff has really connected, and we’re all on the same page. The facility that we’re at right now, we have everything we need,” Elkins said. “We got strength & conditioning, jiu-jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, we got everything right in one place. Most people can’t say that. Most people have to go to multiple gyms to get what we have, so that’s a huge benefit and one of the reasons I came to Alpha Male in the beginning. Let’s face it, when you travel to each place, there is no recovery time. So, it’s less travel and more recovery time, and I feel like everything is coming together.”

Watch the rest of Darren Elkins’ UFC Vegas 45 media day interview above. More coverage of the event, which takes place this Saturday, December 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV, can be found below.