'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQf/2gAIAQEAAAAAhj//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAC//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAEDEAAAAEf/xAAcEAACAgMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMFABEiBGL/2gAIAQEAAT8ArK+XwzGYwOskfQZghAXY6HR02NdeYMQa1SfrROf/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABH/2gAIAQIBAT8ADVv/xAAXEQEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAER/9oACAEDAQE/AE8FT//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#7 Darren Elkins vs. Mirsad Bektic, UFC 209
One of the very best at taking a beating and somehow carrying on, at UFC 209 Darren Elkins made a comeback that seemed impossible even by his standards by roaring back from two rounds in the hole to defeat uber-prospect Mirsad Bektic by third-round TKO. He was battered and bloody, but somehow never beaten.
The first round in particular went terribly for Elkins – he was being lit up on the feet before Bektic took him down and simply punished him from the top position, busting him wide open and having him close to being finished on a couple of occasions. The second round wasn’t much better but by the third, having been unable to take Elkins out, Bektic began to tire.
And so Elkins began to come back slowly, gaining some positional advantages, before he threw caution to the wind. Grabbing a rear waistlock out of a scramble, Elkins landed a pair of big right hands before following with a head kick that sent Bektic crashing down. His primal roar post-fight said it all – this was a man who would never give up no matter how bad things got, meaning a comeback was always possible.
