Kyle Terada-USA Today Sports
UFC on Fox 10 will take place next Saturday, which features a compelling featherweight bout between Darren Elkins and Jeremy Stephens. The featherweight division has always been one of the most exciting in the UFC, and both of these fighters are a testament to this.
Elkins is a fighter who likes to push the pace against his competition. He has cardio for days, and his striking has really come a long way since joining the UFC. Before losing to Chad Mendes, he was rolling over his competition. He will look to get back to his dominant ways against Stephens. Elkins has rebounded nicely since his Mendes loss, defeating Hatsu Hioki by way of decision.
Stephens is pretty green in the featherweight division. He’s had one fight there against Rony Jason. Stephens dominated Jason standing up and landed a sensational kick that put Jason’s lights out. At lightweight, Stephens always had incredible power, and it seems like he’s going to have even more at featherweight. Also, he is going to be one of the bigger featherweights in the division, so this should translate in terms of strength.
Elkins will more than likely try to get this fight to the ground, which is smart because Stephens can knock out out any fighter if he lands flush. From there, he should look to test out Stephens’ cardio. Stephens will want to keep this fight standing, hoping to land one of his dangerous bombs early.
An X-factor in this bout may be the strength and wrestling advantage as this will determine where the fight takes place. Regardless of who comes out the victor, both are prone to putting on exciting fights for the fans, and this one should be no different.
Jeremy Green is a MMA and NFL contributor at RantSports. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus.
