Tim Elliott

Overview

Twenty-three UFC fights, and only three wins by finish. Tim Elliott is a flyweight who has spent a decade winning on the scorecards and losing on the mat. His UFC record is 11-12, his professional record across all promotions is 23-14-1, and he has fought out of Next Generation Gym as a southpaw since debuting in 2012.

Eight of his 11 UFC wins are unanimous decisions. All three finishes are submissions, none came after the second round, and there isn't a knockout among them. The other side of the ledger is just as lopsided: five of his 12 losses are submissions, and seven are decisions.

He wins by grinding, not by finishing. And he is still doing it.

UFC Career

Elliott debuted at UFC on FOX: Diaz vs Miller in May 2012 with a unanimous decision loss to John Dodson. He answered with back-to-back decision wins over Jared Papazian and Louis Gaudinot, then dropped the next three, including a first-round submission to Joseph Benavidez at UFC 172 (4:08).

The marquee moment came in December 2016, when he fought Demetrious Johnson in a five-round fight and lost a unanimous decision. Our model rates Johnson among the elite opponents of his career. Elliott went the distance anyway.

The middle of his run was volatile. He beat Louis Smolka by decision, lost to Ben Nguyen by submission in 49 seconds, then submitted Mark De La Rosa in the second round at UFC 219. Submission losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Royval followed, along with a decision loss to Askar Askarov. He then took three wins in four fights, over Ryan Benoit, Jordan Espinosa and Tagir Ulanbekov.

The later years brought a loss to Muhammad Mokaev by third-round submission (3:03) and a first-round submission win over Sumudaerji (4:02). His longest UFC win streak is two fights, which tells you how rarely things have lined up for him back to back.

He carries a one-fight win streak into his next fight, a unanimous decision over Edgar Chairez at Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado.

Fighting Style

Tim Elliott is a grappler who is hard to hit. His striking output is middle of the road, but he takes less punishment than most and defends well. Where he stands out is on the mat. He shoots for takedowns constantly, he hunts for submissions at a rate few fighters match, and he is also tough to take down himself.

Don't read that as a pure submission artist. Only three of his 11 UFC wins ended in a submission, and he has never won by knockout. Two of those finishes came in the second round and one in the first. The attempts come in bunches, and the finishes don't.

He is at his most dangerous on the mat and still wins mostly by decision, with eight of his 11 wins going the distance.

Notable Wins

• Mark De La Rosa — submission, round 2, UFC 219 (2017)
• Sumudaerji — submission, round 1, UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez (2023)
• Kai Asakura — submission, round 2, UFC 319 (2025)
• Louis Smolka — unanimous decision, UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis (2017)

Quick Facts

• Division: Flyweight
• UFC record: 11-12
• Professional record (all promotions): 23-14-1
• UFC debut: 2012
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height / reach: 5'7" / 66"
• Team: Next Generation Gym
• Born: United States