By Daniel Vreeland

In his last fight, Darren Elkins put in a solid entry for comeback of the year. After being dominated by a tough Mirsad Bektic for two-plus rounds, Elkins landed a head kick to cap one of the most impressive turnarounds.

The win gave him four straight and had him nipping at the heels of the top 10 in the featherweight division. To get there, he would have to work his way past a game Dennis Bermudez. Although Bermudez would have his bright spots in the striking, ultimately Elkins wouldn't need the same kind of comeback this time around.

The first round started with Bermudez making good use of the leg kicks. The damage was showing on Elkins early, even causing him to lose his balance. But a missed head kick and a slip from Bermudez led to an easy advantage in the grappling from Elkins. While Bermudez quickly got up, he was worked right back to the mat after whiffing on a winging hook. This time Elkins would work to a body triangle and close out the round.

The second would see a change in gameplan in the striking from Bermudez. Early on he was head hunting and landing frequently on the durable Elkins. In desperation, Elkins began diving on takedown attempts that simple weren't there. Bermudez would eventually get a short lived takedown of his own, before a mad scramble at the end of the round.

The third would continue to see Bermudez looking for the big punch to put away Elkins. Elkins would survive some of the hardest strikes and again make use of his grappling to neutralize the speed advantage of Bermudez.

In the end the grappling would be enough to earn Elkins the nod on two of the three judges scorecards much to the dismay of Bermudez's hometown crowd. The win is Elkins' 5th straight in a very deep featherweight division.

UFC on Fox 25 Results:

Darren Elkins def. Dennis Bermudez via split decision
Patrick Cummins def. Gian Villante via split decision
Jimmie Rivera def. Thomas Almeida via unanimous decision
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Lyman Good via split decision
Eryk Anders def. Rafael Natal via KO (punches) Rd 1
Alex Oliveira def. Ryan LaFlare via KO (punch) Rd 2
Chase Sherman def. Damian Grabowski via unanimous decision
Jeremy Kennedy def. Kyle Bochniak via unanimous decision
Marlon Vera def. Brian Kelleher via submission (armbar) Rd 1
Junior Albini def. Tim Johnson via TKO (punches) Rd 1
Shane Burgos def. Godofredo Pepey via unanimous decision
Chris Wade def. Frankie Perez via unanimous decision

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