Tim Elliott confirmed signing a contract with the UFC, removing his fears that he had reached his end as a fighter in the promotion. And while many other fighters are aiming to reach the top to get the title shot in their divisions, the 36-year-old is satisfied as long as he’s receiving fight offers from the UFC.
Elliott had his recent bout at UFC Fight Night 233 after stepping in to replace Allan Nascimento. Despite taking the fight on short notice, Elliott managed to deliver a remarkable performance by submitting Su Mudaerji via arm-triangle choke at the 4:02 mark of Round 1. Ultimately, the win gave him the Performance of the Night bonus, which many would see as the biggest highlight of Elliott’s success. For the fighter, nonetheless, it is the assurance that he can still fight in the coming months under UFC.
Prior to taking the bout against Mudaerji, Elliott lost to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 in October. With one last fight under his contract, the fighter feared that another loss could signal the end of his career, making this latest win his salvation fight.
“After my last loss, I didn’t know where I was gonna be,” Elliott said at the post-fight news conference of the event. “I had one fight left on my contract. It’s a really scary thing in the UFC to go and fight with one fight left on your contract. Another loss means I’m done. Even if I won the last fight on my contract, there’s a good chance that maybe they wouldn’t re-sign me (since I’m) finally making decent money.”
Fortunately, the UFC gave Elliott another contract after taking the bout on short notice. According to the fighter, it was a four-fight contract, which included the recent one he handled with the Chinese opponent. Interestingly, the veteran expressed great satisfaction with the contract. Instead of aiming for a fight against those in the higher ranks, Elliott is just content by being “a company man,” whom UFC “can call on short notice.”
“But taking this fight on short notice, they automatically gave me a new contract. I just started that new contract today with a win. Now I have the job security of three more fights. That’s all I really want. I want to make sure that I can fight again tomorrow, that I can fight again the next day. My biggest fear right now is not having this in my life.
“I would love to be that guy they can call on short notice… I want to be that guy. I’m a company man. I’m ready to work.”
