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It’s not every day that a fighter accuses his opponent of domestic violence in the middle of a fight. And yet, that’s what happened on Saturday night between Tim Elliott and Jordan Espinosa at UFC 259.
Towards the end of the second round of their flyweight bout at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Elliott choked Espinosa with his elbow and arm from the highest position. At this point, Elliott started talking to his opponent. Their conversation was picked up by microphones at the edge of the cage so that viewers could hear it during the show.
“I heard you were suffocating a girl in 2018. Are you a female drummer?” Elliott said.
“You don’t know the whole story,” Espinosa replied.
“I know enough,” Elliott said.
Espinosa ended the exchange by telling Elliott, “You don’t know shit” before the horn sounded.
At his post-fight press conference, Elliott – who won by unanimous decision – explained that he received a Facebook post containing photos of a woman “with choke marks on her neck.” allegedly caused by Espinosa. Elliott did not disclose who sent him the message.
In response, Espinosa director Bryan Hamper of SuckerPunch Ent., Issued a statement to MMA Junkie denouncing Elliott’s actions.
“We will not comment on Tim Elliott’s accusations,” Hamper said. “It is extremely unfortunate that an athlete who has no information on the situation is offered a platform to recklessly slander another athlete without any credible information other than a message (Facebook). This sets a dangerous precedent for this type of behavior to grab the headlines. Words matter. “
For his part, Elliott said it wasn’t his intention for the whole world to overhear his conversation with Espinosa, who he trained with at Glory MMA and Fitness at Lee’s Summit, Missouri, near Kansas City.
“I didn’t say that for nobody else to hear it, because I don’t know the whole story,” Elliott said. “… It wasn’t something I wanted the whole world to hear. It was supposed to be between him and me.
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