Not every day a fighter accuses his opponent of domestic violence in the middle of a fight. And yet, that’s what happened on Saturday night between Tim Elliott and Jordan Espinosa at UFC 259.
Towards the end of the second round of the fight for the weight of flies at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Elliott strangled Espinosa with his elbow and arm in the top position. At that moment, Elliott started talking to his opponent. Their conversation was picked up by cage microphones for viewers to hear.
“I heard you suffocated a girl in 2018. Are you a beating woman?” Elliott said.
“You don’t know the whole story,” Espinosa replied.
“I know enough,” Elliott said.
Espinosa ended the exchange by telling Elliott, “You don’t know how to be” before sounding the horn.
At the post-fight press conference, Elliott – who won by unanimous decision – explained that he had received a message on Facebook containing images of a woman “with traces of suffocation in the neck”, allegedly caused by Espinosa. Elliott did not disclose 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 allegations,” Hamper said. “It is extremely unfortunate that an athlete who has no information about the situation is offered a platform to recklessly slander another athlete with no credible information other than a message (Facebook). It sets a dangerous precedent, allowing this type of behavior to be headlines. Words matter. ”
For his part, Elliott said it was not his intention for people to hear his conversation with Espinosa, with whom he used to train at Glory MMA and Fitness at Lee’s Summit, Mo, near Kansas City.
“I didn’t say that for someone else to hear, because I don’t know the whole story,” Elliott said. “… It wasn’t something I wanted everyone to hear. That had to be between him and me. “