Quick interviewette w/ UFC fighter Darren Elkins!

I had a chance to speak with up and coming UFC fighter Darren Elkins today.  We were a little pressed for time, but I was able to check some facts and satisfy a couple of personal curiosities.  All in all, it was a great talk, but not really an epic size interview.  So, I am going to wet your whistle with an “extended introduction” of Darren and in a few weeks when he is here in Vegas, I will try hard to get some training video or pics to go with a full-blown, epic interview.

Darren “the Damage” Elkins is from my hometown of Portage, Indiana!  He has a professional record of 11 wins and 2 loses.  He is a tough, well-rounded fighter with 4 wins coming by KO/TKO and 5 by SUB with only 2 by DEC.  His UFC record is 1 and 1. 

Like many great MMA fighters, Darren has a wrestling background.  He wrestled all through high school and in 2004 won a state championship.  He started fighting MMA because of the repeated prompting of a friend.  Currently, Darren spends time training at Duneland Vale Tudo in Hobart, IN and Carlson Gracie MMA in Merrillville, IN.

On Saturday, June 11^th UFC 131 Lesnar vs. Dos Santos will broadcast live on pay-per-view from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC and Darren will be facing Michihiro Omigawa in his 3^rd UFC fight.  Both fighters will be coming off a lose and will be hungry for a win.  I asked Darren what he knew about Omigawa and how they matched up.  He said that, “Omigawa is tough… has a judo background and has looked good in his last couple fights.”  He also said that, “It should be a great fight… we both like to mix it up… most MMA sources have Omigawa ranked in the top 8… I am training hard and am the bigger fighter, taller by a couple of inches!”   I agree, this is going to be an exciting fight!

To finish things up, I asked Darren what he does when he isn’t training or working. He told me that he likes to spend time with his wife and two children.  He likes to go fishing and hang out at the beach.

It turns out, Darren “the Damage” Elkins is a great guy!  I sure hope we are able to get together in a few weeks and talk some more.  I can’t wait to see to see his fight with Omigawa and wish him the very best!