00:00Now we jump into some of the bigger numbers right now with longtime veteran Darren Elkins.
00:06So as we talked about, there's a big theme to this card with sort of dudes in their early 40s,
00:11taking on guys in their early 30s or sort of 20s still, a passing of the guard, gatekeeper,
00:17whatever you want to call it, and all that.
00:19But Elkins is still winning, actually, Tom.
00:22He is 2-1 in his last three fights.
00:25DiValle comes in here, one of these contender series fighters, coming off his first UFC loss.
00:32This is going to be his fourth UFC bout, minus 700 favorite.
00:36That's what just sort of stuck out to me here.
00:39What do you make of this?
00:40And the total is 1.5 in this fight as well.
00:44Yeah, I mean, Elkins has put together a couple wins over the past, you know,
00:49it's kind of been the past like three years.
00:51He's not fighting all that consistently.
00:54But, you know, 2-1 in his last three fights, he lost his last fight.
00:59It did not look good at all.
01:01He's another guy that got by on grit.
01:04He's a really good wrestler.
01:05He can push a high pace.
01:07And if you can't keep up with that pace, he's going to drown you.
01:11And the problem is, his nickname is The Damage, and it's for a reason.
01:14He does damage, but he also takes a lot of damage.
01:17And we're seeing that add up.
01:19He's actually, this is supposed to be his retirement fight.
01:21So I would expect him to come out and be his best version.
01:25And it's kind of weird with Dubai because he came into the UFC, you know,
01:30looked pretty solid.
01:31Then he had that Isaac Dalgarian fight where, you know, that's still, you know,
01:35under investigation.
01:37It looked like Dalgarian.
01:38Well, it's pretty clear Dalgarian blew that fight, threw that fight.
01:42So he got an easy finish there.
01:44And then he came out in his last fight, kind of got ragdolled for three rounds,
01:48just got out-wrestled by Jordan Levitt.
01:50So, I mean, I think he's actually a pretty good fighter.
01:54A lot of people are down on him because, you know, oh, you want a fixed fight,
01:57and then he's got over the course of three rounds.
02:01But I actually think he's a halfway decent fighter.
02:03I think he's got good scrambles.
02:05I think he's got, you know, decent striking.
02:07So he should win this fight by all accounts.
02:11I mean, Darren Elkins, he is aging, and he has looked weathered over the past
02:16couple years despite that two-in-one record.
02:20Took a pretty bad knockout loss in his last one.
02:23So, you know, but I expect him to come out and fight for it.
02:27And I'm actually kind of curious what the takedown numbers are going to be
02:30because I think he could land two or three takedowns and kind of make this
02:34fight interesting.
02:35Overall, I think he probably ends up getting finished.
02:37I just don't think the cardio's there like it used to be.
02:41I don't think he takes damage well like he used to.
02:44So Devise should win this fight.
02:47But I'm going to be looking at this from a prop perspective and from a live
02:51perspective because, you know, if Elkins shows some life, you know,
02:54maybe you get a decent price on him.
02:56I mean, obviously you get a decent price on him if you bet him pre-fight.
02:59But, you know, in the fight, he might be a good live bet.
03:03Devise might be a good live bet if Elkins comes out and wins that first round.
03:08And gets some takedowns.
03:08Yeah, exactly.
03:10But, you know, you'll have to see, like, how Elkins looks.
03:14Is he kind of fading?
03:15Is he taking damage?
03:16Maybe you get a better price on Devise.
03:18But I don't know.
03:19I'm kind of interested in the Elkins takedown prop.
03:22I think this fight ends in a violent fashion.
03:26I think it ends in a finish.
03:28Devise should win this fight.
03:30I do think he's a solid UFC-level fighter.
03:34And Elkins is a guy that is on his way out.
03:37But it is his retirement fight.
03:39So, I mean, if anybody's going to show up for the retirement fight,
03:43it would be Darren Elkins.
03:44So, I expect him to come out strong early.
03:46But, overall, I just – the way he lost in his last fight,
03:50it's kind of concerning.
03:52And, unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be the greatest end for him.
03:56It's hard to fully predict what a fighter's going to do.
03:59And even a fighter, you know, everybody has a plan
04:01until they get punched in the face or they get taken down, et cetera.
04:05Things change.
04:06But I do agree with Tom.
04:08And, you know, Elkins isn't coming.
04:11He doesn't want to get knocked out in the first round of his last fight, Elkins.
04:14Right?
04:14So, he's definitely going to be shooting for some takedowns.
04:17So, I'm just looking at that one and a half more than anything.
04:20Thinking, you know what?
04:21Yeah, he's 42 years old.
04:22But I think he can give us seven and a half minutes here.
04:25Because I think he will be his best in the first round.
04:27He'll start to wear as the fight goes.
04:29He'll get tagged as the fight starts to go.
04:31But I think he can give us seven and a half minutes.
04:35Yeah.
04:36I don't mind that look at all.
04:37I mean, if he does come out and, like I said, land a couple of those takedowns early,
04:43you know, Devise is a guy that can be taken down.
04:45Obviously, we saw that in his last fight.
04:47Now, Jordan Leavitt is a really good grappler and he's a bigger guy.
04:51So, but, I mean, Darren Elkins historically could take down pretty much any opponent he's fought.
04:56Even in that last fight where he got knocked out.
04:59I mean, he still landed a takedown early in that fight.
05:02He just didn't go well for him.
05:05So, yeah, I expect him to grapple for his life.
05:08And, you know, even if he's getting beaten up, I guess it depends on the ref.
05:12But if the ref's going to let him kind of hang in there a little bit, he will hang in
05:16there.
05:16He's not going to quit.
05:17So, yeah, I think the over one and a half is definitely live here.
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