It didn’t happen. But when you’ve been in the game for a long as Elkins has, you’re more receptive to your losses. It’s obviously not something he wishes happened that night, but a setback like this is nothing new. At one point during his UFC career, Elkins found himself on four-fight losing skid. Prior to that, he was riding a six-fight win streak from 2015-2018. He’s seen all the epic highs and lows. But that’s just a part of the job.
“Your first loss feels like the end of the world. The first couple losses feel like it’s the end of the world,” Elkins explained. “You got to remember that that doesn’t mean you’re not the better fighter sometimes. Sometimes you can be the better fighter and lose that day. You had a bad day; they had a great day. So, I just take it in stride and keep on moving forward and think about what I did.”
Another part of the job is to recover and rebuild. Those two things specifically go hand in hand and are crucial to finding longevity in this sport. While they may sound like obvious aspects of the game, recovery wasn’t always preached back in the early days of fighting. But as time goes on, the science and research that goes into fighting has evolved drastically over the years. If you’re not properly training and eating smart, the fight game won’t be too kind to you.
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“The science part is so much more advanced than what it used to be. The dieting, just the dieting alone, the training. Everything is so much better than just sparring five times a week or six times a week and doing a little bit of drilling. Now, there’s a lot of purpose as to why you’re training, what to do and when to rest. Listening to your body,” said Elkins. “Recovery is a huge thing that wasn’t really as big back then. So, I’m just following the science, and I take what I really like and leave what I don’t, and I just keep on bringing it into every camp.”
As for this Saturday, Elkins is looking forward to getting back in the Octagon and doing what he loves. He’ll have an exciting matchup in Tristan Connelly, as he believes that their styles and approach to fights mirror one another.
