Tim Elliott says he’s “no longer chasing wins,” focused on collecting bonuses

Tim Elliott has changed his approach to fighting.

The former UFC flyweight title challenger and TUF winner will return to the Octagon on Saturday to battle newcomer Brandon Royval. He’s also looking to snap his two-fight losing streak, but for him, he says wins and losses no longer matter. Instead, he wants to win bonuses and be known as an exciting fighter.

“You can be cut after wins in this sport. For me, the most important thing is to go out there and put on a good performance,” Elliott said to BJPENN.com. “I’m no longer chasing wins, I want to have fun and feel good about my wins and get that bonus cheque. This is a good fight for that.”

Against Royval, however, Elliott is confident he’ll be able to get a bonus and get his hand raised. He trained with the former LFA flyweight champion years ago and knows he’s dangerous.

Yet, for Elliott, he knows he’s the better fighter and his experience will be a factor.

“I have known about him for a while. Marc Montoya is his coach and James Krause works with him and that’s one of my best friends,” Elliott revealed. “I’ve rolled with Brandon when I fought Demetrious Johnson. He’s crafty and young. There are no gimme fights, he’s dangerous.

“Although he’s tricky, I don’t think he will show me anything I haven’t seen,” he continued. “I’ve fought the who’s who but he has the danger factor. His ability to finish the fight makes it really interesting. I just think he’s not there yet. He will be, but not for this fight.”

For Elliott, he’s confident in his game plan that he’ll get his hand raised and make it an exciting fight in the process.

“I didn’t know he has never been finished. I always want a finish. But when I fight, I don’t want to go and hit him once and it be over,” he said. “It may be weird but I want to be out there and show people I’ve been putting in work and I’ve improved. There are still exciting fights at flyweight and I want to be a part of it.”

Ultimately, for Tim Elliott, he knows winning this fight is crucial if he wants to make another title run. He believes a win over Royval gets him a top-10 opponent and after that puts him one win away from a title shot.

“This fight is everything. A win here gets me a top guy,” he said. “Maybe we finally book that Jordan Espinosa fight if he wins, and that would put me on a two-fight win streak. Then, maybe I get a rematch with Askar Askarov and that gets me into title contention.”

In the end, Tim Elliott is just eager to get back into the Octagon and prove flyweights can have exciting fights and leave the Apex with a $50,000 bonus.

What do you make of Tim Elliott saying he’s no longer chasing wins?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/25/2020