Tim Elliott has good reason to support Tony Soto ahead of his match up with Kevin Croom at BKFC 52 this weekend (Fri., Oct. 20, 2023).
Mixed martial arts (MMA) bled into personal life a little too much for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight, Elliott, this past Summer of 2023. Taking to social media one day, Elliott vented by letting the world know his now-ex-wife, former UFC Bantamweight and Flyweight, Gina Mazany, cheated on him on their wedding night with his friend and teammate, Kevin Croom, and had a secret relationship for the entirety of their marriage.
Elliott revealed everything before his bout with Victor Altamirano at UFC Vegas 74, and went on to win a unanimous decision, putting him on a two-fight winning streak. Both Mazany and Croom were released from UFC in 2022 after losing multiple fights in a row. They’re now each undefeated in competition since, focusing most recently on bare-knuckle boxing, where Croom is 2-0 in Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and seeks a third straight win over the aforementioned Soto at BKFC 52. Soto has the full support of the UFC veteran, Elliott, as he’s being sponsored by The Ultimate Fighter 24 (TUF) winner.
“Sponsoring my first fighter! The man that’s about to knock out Kevin Croom.. let’s go, Tony ‘Loco’ Soto,” Elliott said on Facebook (h/t Damon Martin).
Martin’s original tweet stated how Croom “allegedly had an affair” with Mazany, which Elliott replied to saying, “Not allegedly 100% did.”
The timing of Soto vs. Croom comes within the same window as Elliott’s return. The 32-fight veteran (19-12-1), Elliott, competes in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates at UFC 294 against the unbeaten super prospect, Muhammed Mokaev (10-0, 1 no contest), this weekend (Sat., Oct. 21, 2023).