Ryan Hall has been vocal on his desire to fight only the top guys. His next opponent, Darren Elkins, may be low in the rankings at 15, but “The Damage” is a real veteran who has seen everything in the division. He has been around since 2007 and is far from being washed up. If Hall wanted a tough fight, he’s getting it on July 13 as he faces Elkins at UFC Fight Night 155. The numbers below should provide some insight on their upcoming encounter.
Overall experience
Elkins made his pro debut as far back as Jan. 24, 2007, winning by knockout at an event called Bourbon Street Brawl 2 in Chicago, Illinois. He followed it up with seven more victories, including a win over former two-time Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran at C3: Domination. After 11 fights, he was signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and made his promotional debut with a victory over Duane Ludwig at UFC on Versus 1. It was held on March 21, 2010, and he has been with the UFC since then. His overall professional record is 24-7.Hall debuted with a unanimous decision loss against Eddie Fyvie on April 29, 2006. However, after a total of five fights, he made his way to the UFC by way of The Ultimate Fighter 22. He decisioned Artem Lobov in the finale and has since defeated Gray Maynard and BJ Penn. His current record is 7-1.
Wins by knockout
Hall is a high-level jiu-jitsu black belt who has been making some strides with his striking. In fact, two of his seven victories have come via KO or TKO, with his victims being Phillip Deschambeault and Leonardo Perez. Elkins, for his part, has starched eight opponents, including three in the UFC. His victims are Jeremy Markam, Matt Joseph, Daniel Wanderley, Kenny Klein, Bryan Neville, Ludwig, Antonio Carvalho and Mirsad Bektic.Wins by submission
Three of Hall’s seven career victories have come by submission, including two by heel hook. He applied the submission on Ryan Hogans and the aforementioned Penn. Hall also tapped out Maged Hammo by rear-naked choke. Inside the TUF house, he submitted two other fighters using the same submission.Elkins has gathered four submissions, including one in the UFC, tapping out Michael Johnson by rear-naked choke. Outside of the promotion, he has submitted Atsuhiro Tsuboy, Decarlo Johnson and Danny Rodriguez.