The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday returns to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for the second straight week with another compelling slate of prelims. Featherweights take the featured spot on the UFC Fight Night 230 undercard, as Darren Elkins answers the call in an attempt to gut out yet another win, this time against T.J. Brown. Some late shuffles result in two fun fights: Chris Gutierrez looks to defend his bantamweight ranking against the sneakily effective Heili Alateng, and the always-electric Terrance McKinney faces organizational newcomer Brendon Marotte. Meanwhile, Ashley Yoder returns from a long layoff to confront Emily Ducote in a crucial fight for both strawweights, and the UFC’s hunt for prospects at women’s bantamweight fills out the rest of the preliminary draw, as Irina Alekseeva takes on the unbeaten Melissa Dixon and Tainara Lisboa tackles Ravena Oliveira.
Featherweights
T.J. Brown (17-10, 3-4 UFC) vs. Darren Elkins (27-11, 17-10 UFC)ODDS: Brown (-192), Elkins (+160)
Even at 39 years old, Elkins is still chugging along. “The Damage” first cut down to featherweight in 2011 and immediately became the division’s spoiler, derailing prospects with an ugly but effective wrestling game and leaning on his seemingly inhuman durability. Elkins kept finding success even as he kept absorbing damage, rattling off a six-fight winning streak that got him near title contention in 2018. However, after a one-sided loss to Alexander Volkanovski, Elkins went on a four-fight skid that raised some concerns that the wheels were falling completely off his game. Elkins has at least found his floor and proven capable of grinding out a win—he has come out the victor in three of his last five—but he has slowed down to the point that the losses have become quite harrowing. Cub Swanson obliterated him in 2021, and his December loss to Jonathan Pearce was a one-sided beating made worse only by Elkins’ ability to eat every bit of offense coming his way. Brown makes for an interesting Elkins opponent, as the Arkansas native is a slow starter who usually works his way into a fight through wrestling and grappling while relying on his superior cardio—all ideas that fall directly into the phases where Elkins is still capable. To that end, it would not be an absolute shock to see Brown come out on the losing end of a wrestling match he initiates. With that said, even in a loss, Brown looked like a more effective striker than usual against Bill Algeo in April—it suggests he could take that path to victory—and it is hard in general to get over the mental hump and make a pro-Elkins pick. The pick is Brown via decision.
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Brown vs. Elkins
Dixon vs. Alekseeva
Gutierrez vs. Alateng
Ducote vs. Yoder
McKinney vs. Marotte
Lisboa vs. Oliveira