Less than three days after stretching his win streak to a division-best five straight UFC victories, Darren Elkins has his next assignment, and it’s the test he’s been waiting for.
Elkins has accepted a slot opposite former featherweight top contender Chad Mendes at UFC on FOX 7, the promotion confirmed on Tuesday.
Elkins (16-2) will be stepping in for Clay Guida, who was forced to withdraw from the bout last week after suffering an injury. The Indiana-based fighter defeated Antonio Carvalho via first-round TKO at least weekend’s UFC 158. Elkins’ other divisional wins have come against Steven Siler, Diego Brandao, Tiequan Zhang, and Michihiro Omigawa. Despite, his success, he’s yet to crack the top 10 in the UFC’s divisional rankings.
He will be the third straight short-notice opponent for Mendes, who scored knockouts over the first two, Cody McKenzie and Yaotzin Meza.
Mendes (13-1) has his only career loss against division champion Jose Aldo.
UFC on FOX 7 is set for the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It features a UFC lightweight championship main event with Benson Henderson attempting to defend the UFC belt against the last Strikeforce champion, Gilbert Melendez.