It is not every day that a fighter accuses his opponent of domestic violence in the middle of a fight. And yet, it happened on Saturday night between Tim Elliott and Jordan Espinosa at UFC 259.
Towards the end of the second round of the flyweight fight at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Elliott smothered Espinosa with his elbow and arm from a superior position. At that point, Elliott started talking to his opponent. The conversation was picked up by microphones next to the cage for viewers to hear on the broadcast.
“I heard that you strangled a girl in 2018. Are you a female beater?” Elliott said.
“You don’t know the whole story,” replied Espinosa.
“I know enough,” Elliott said.
Espinosa ended the conversation by saying to Elliott, “You don’t fucking know” before the horn sounds.
In his post-fight press conference, Elliott – who won by unanimous decision – explained that he received a message on Facebook that contained pictures of a woman “with a neck strangulation” allegedly caused by Espinosa. Elliott did not reveal who sent him the message.
In response, Espinosa’s manager Bryan Hamper of SuckerPunch Ent. Issued a statement to MMA Junkie denouncing Elliott’s actions.
“We will not comment on Tim Elliott’s accusations,” said Hamper. “It is extremely unfortunate that an athlete who has no information about the situation has a platform to recklessly slander another athlete with no reliable information other than a message (on Facebook). This sets a dangerous precedent, allowing this type of behavior to make headlines. Words matter. “
In turn, Elliott said it was not his intention for the world to overhear his conversation with Espinosa, with whom he trained at the Glory MMA and Fitness in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, near Kansas City.
“I didn’t say that to anyone to hear, because I don’t know the whole story,” said Elliott. “… It was not something I wanted the whole world to hear. This should be between him and me. “