Timothy Samuel Elliott (born December 24, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Competing professionally since 2009, Elliott is the former Titan FC Flyweight Champion and the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions.
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Background
Elliott was born on December 24, 1986, in Arkansas City, Kansas. When he was in fourth grade, Elliott moved with his father to Haysville, Kansas, where he started wrestling. Elliott originally attended Campus High School where he was a state wrestling runner-up, but transferred to Wichita South High School during his junior year. Elliott then became a state champion at Wichita South his senior year in 2005.
He was on the wrestling team at Labette Community College, before transferring to the University of Central Oklahoma, earning All-American honors, placing every year during his collegiate wrestling career and becoming the NJCAA wrestling national champion in 2007. He earned a bachelor's degree in Science and General Studies.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Elliott compiled a record of 8–2–1 in his first 11 fights before signing with the UFC, including a notable KO victory over former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver. According to Elliott, he caught the former champion with a "lucky knee," and that he owes his career to his win over Pulver. Pulver was Elliott's favorite fighter at the time, and Elliott recalls being nervous beforehand and describes knocking him out as "bittersweet."
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Elliott signed with UFC on April 17, 2012 after putting together an eight-fight win streak.
In his UFC debut, Elliott faced The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner John Dodson on May 5, 2012, at UFC on Fox 3, replacing an injured Darren Uyenoyama on six day's notice. Elliott lost the fight via unanimous decision. Elliot has since described his fight against Dodson as life-changing.
In his second fight, Elliott faced Jared Papazian on December 15, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–25, 30–25, 30–26). The fight also earned him the Fight of the Night bonus. Elliott has stated that Papazian was effectively able to get into his head before the fight to the point that Elliott didn't want to fight him, and as such he felt "robbed" of his ability to perform to the best of his ability.
For his third fight, Elliott faced Louis Gaudinot on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Elliott fought Ali Bagautinov at UFC 167 on November 16, 2013. The bout marked his first appearance on the main card of a pay-per-view event in the fight. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Elliott faced Joseph Benavidez on April 26, 2014, at UFC 172. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Elliott was expected to face Wilson Reis on August 23, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 49. However, Elliott pulled out of the bout in the days leading up to the event.
Elliott faced Zach Makovsky on February 15, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 60. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Following the fight, he was released from the organization.
Titan FC
Elliott made his debut and faced former UFC Flyweight Iliarde Santos at Titan FC 34 for the inaugural Titan FC Flyweight Championship. He won the fight by a dominant unanimous decision and picked up the Titan FC Flyweight Championship.
For his first title defense, Elliott faced undefeated prospect and promotional newcomer Felipe Efrain at Titan FC 35 on September 19, 2015. He won the fight by submission in the second round.
Elliott next faced former UFC Bantamweight Pedro Nobre at Titan FC 37 on March 5, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision for his second successful title defense.
The Ultimate Fighter
On July 21, 2016, Elliott was announced as a cast member on the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter. The winner of the show, won a chance to fight Demetrious Johnson for the UFC Flyweight Championship. Despite being ranked as the number 3 seed, Elliott was selected as the first overall pick by former opponent Joseph Benavidez.
In his first fight, Elliott faced 14th ranked 'Team Cejudo' fighter Charlie Alaniz. He submitted Aniz in the first round by bulldog choke. In the quarterfinals, Elliott faced 6th ranked 'Team Cejudo' fighter and former Caged contestant Matt Schnell. Despite being struck with a devastating groin kick in the opening moments of the bout, he was able to recover and submit Schnell in the first round by front choke. In the semifinals, Elliott faced 15th ranked 'Team Benavidez' teammate Eric Shelton. After two competitive rounds, Elliott was declared the winner by majority decision. Elliott fought 5th ranked 'Team Benavidez' teammate Hiromasa Ougikubo in the final round. Elliott won the fight by unanimous decision 30–27 to win the tournament.
Return to the UFC
As a result of winning The Ultimate Fighter 24, Elliott won the opportunity to fight flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. He fought Johnson on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale for the flyweight championship.
Elliott lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Elliott faced Louis Smolka on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. He won the fight by unanimous decision. The win earned Elliott his second Fight of the Night bonus award, and his first since returning the organization.
Elliott faced Ben Nguyen on June 10, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 110. He was submitted with a rear-naked choke in the opening minute of the first round.
Elliott was expected to face Justin Scoggins on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox 26. However, Scoggins pulled out of the bout in early December citing a back injury and was replaced by Pietro Menga. The bout was cancelled as Menga failed to show to the weigh in because he did not make weight. Elliott was offered the fight at catchweight at 131 pounds, which would have given him 10% of Menga's fight purse, but he declined.
After the fight against Menga was cancelled, the UFC offered Elliott a fight at UFC 219, which Elliott only accepted under the condition he fights somebody who has never missed weight and has never backed out of a fight at the last minute. Elliott fought promotional newcomer Mark De La Rosa at bantamweight. He won in the second round by submission via an anaconda choke. After the fight, he dedicated the win to his coach, Robert Follis, who died earlier in the month. For the fight, Elliott won a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, his first performance of the night bonus and third fight bonus in the UFC overall.
Elliott tore his ACL in June 2018. He underwent successful surgery on it on June 14. He stated at the time that he expected miss at least a year before he could fight again.
Elliott faced Deiveson Figueiredo on October 12, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 19. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Fighting style
Elliott is regarded as an erratic and unorthodox fighter, using unconventional striking, level changes, and acrobatics to disrupt his opponent's rhythm. During his tenure on The Ultimate Fighter, coach Joseph Benavidez praised Elliott's style as awkward, unpredictable, hard to read, and "controlled chaos." As a national wrestling champion and BJJ purple belt, he is a skilled and dangerous grappler with eight submission wins. He aggressively hunts for submissions, even during scrambles and from disadvantageous positions. Elliott has stated that he used to be a more conventional ground-and-pound fighter, but that he deliberately adopted his unique style before his fight with John Dodson after being encouraged by Dana White to be exciting immediately before the fight.
Personal life
He was in a relationship with fellow UFC fighter Gina Mazany. On July 28, 2020, Elliott announced on his Instagram that he and Mazany were engaged. Elliott and Mazany have since divorced. He has one daughter from a previous relationship.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Winner
Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Jared Papazian, Louis Smolka and Brandon Royval
Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Mark De La Rosa, Su Mudaerji and Kai Asakura
Most takedowns landed in UFC Flyweight division history (63)
Most total strikes landed in UFC Flyweight division history (1921)
Second most bouts in UFC Flyweight division history (20) (behind Brandon Moreno)
Tied (Joseph Benavidez) for most decision wins in UFC Flyweight division history (7)
Most decision bouts in UFC Flyweight division history (14)
Most unanimous decision wins in UFC Flyweight division history (7)
Third most total fight time in UFC Flyweight division history (4:19:05)
Second most control time in UFC Flyweight division history (1:13:07) (behind Demetrious Johnson)
Second most top position time in UFC Flyweight division history (1:03:39) (behind Demetrious Johnson)
Fifth most significant strikes in UFC Flyweight division history (926)
Third most submission attempts in UFC Flyweight division history (16)
Mixed martial arts record
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
*Date given is the air date of the episode. The actual dates of the fight are not released by the UFC
