Darren Elkins Gets Thrashed for Most of Fight, Stuns Foe for KO Win at UFC 209

That's right. That fighter up there won his fight. You might not believe it looking at the photo, but it's true.

His name, for those wondering, is Darren Elkins. Entering the cage with 15 UFC fights to his name he has managed to stick around near the top of the hyper-competitive featherweight division with his toughness and smothering wrestling. 

At UFC 209, however, he seemingly met his match in hotshot prospect Mirsad Bektic. Shortly into the first round, Bektic took Elkins down and advanced to the mounted-crucifix position. That forced Elkins to absorb an inordinate number of hard punches that wound up slicing Elkins open in three different spots.

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The punishment continued from there and, by the end of the second round, Elkins' face was basically two times its natural size.

Those 146 strikes landed by Bektic (per FightMetric.com) did a number on his gas tank, however, and that offered a glimmer of hope for a comeback, and Elkins took full advantage. Check out the video here:

Now riding a four-fight winning streak, the owner of MMA's worst tattoo may be closing in on a surprising Cinderella title run. 

While he probably won't score a dramatic, come-from-behind knockout in his next fight, Elkins' next performance will be one worth watching.