Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
- Tim Elliot asked his UFC opponent Saturday if he was a woman-beater in the middle of their fight.
- His opponent Jordan Espinosa said: “You don’t know the whole story.”
- Elliot elaborated on the in-fight exchange to the media at a post-fight conference.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The UFC veteran Tim Elliot appeared to ask his opponent Jordan Espinosa if he was a woman-beater in the middle of their fight Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas.
The three-round flyweight bout was one Elliot dominated, and it was not without wild moments as the 34-year-old complained to the referee Mark Smith that his opponent was overly-greased in the opening round.
Later, Elliot was bleeding profusely and used his forehead to rub that blood all over Espinosa’s eyes while they were grappling on the mat.
As the show was held behind-closed-doors – as has been customary for the UFC’s events during the COVID-era in the US – things like punches, and voices, could be heard more clearly.
And midway through the Elliot and Espinosa fight, it seemed like they had the following exchange:
Elliot: "I heard you choked your girl in 2018. Are you a woman-beater? She messaged me."
Espinosa: "Did she? You don't know the whole story."
Elliot: "I know enough."
Espinosa: "You don't know s---."
You can hear their in-fight conversation here:
—Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) March 7, 2021
Elliot landed 91 of his 120 strikes for a 76% accuracy rate while securing four of his seven takedown attempts, and so he was far busier, more active, and more effective than Espinosa, who landed 22 of 35 strikes (62%).
He was awarded a unanimous decision win with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-25 from the three Octagonside judges.
Though the UFC commentator Joe Rogan did not ask about the conversation during Elliot's post-fight interview on ESPN, it was brought up by reporters at the post-event press conference.
"I didn't say that for anybody else to hear because I don't know the whole story," Elliot told the media.
"I was messaged on Facebook … a long message with some pictures and some Snapchat, back-and-forth between Jordan Espinosa and another girl. Pictures of her with choke marks on her neck.
"Again, I don't know the whole story and it's not something I wanted the whole world to hear. That was supposed to be between him and I.
"I didn't know the mic was going to pick up on it. But it was kind of disturbing - the whole thing.
"I have a daughter. This was the only fight that I've had out of all my fights that was personal. It was hard to keep my cool, my cardio in check, because of it.
"It's not something I'm proud of to say, but I'm glad it's out there if it's true."
With the victory, Elliot advanced his pro MMA record to 17 wins (three knockouts, six submissions, and eight decisions) against 11 losses.