Tim Elliott says he ‘hated every second’ of TUF 24: ‘It was a culture shock’

Tim Elliott won The Ultimate Fighter 24 and later fought UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, but that doesn’t mean being on the show was an enjoyable experience.

Tim Elliott had a lot to gain from The Ultimate Fighter 24. Not just a ticket back to the UFC, but also a shot at UFC gold. TUF 24 was a unique season of the long-running reality television show, as it gathered 16 regional champions to determine longtime flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson’s next challenger. Elliott was the Titan FC champ going into the show.

Things couldn’t have gone better for Elliott on TUF 24. He kicked his stint on the show off with a submission win over Charlie Alaniz, and then tapped out Matt Schnell in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Elliott got past Eric Shelton by majority decision, and then won the show with a unanimous decision win over Hiromasa Ogikubo in the finals.

Elliott fought “Mighty Mouse” at TUF 24 Finale last December, and actually caused some problems for the pound-for-pound king in the first round. He had Johnson locked up in a tight submission hold, but the champion survived the early scare and bested Elliott in the other four rounds. Elliott walked away with a decision loss on his record.

TUF 24 did a lot for Elliott’s career; it earned him another tenure with the UFC (after being released in 2015) and a title shot, and caused his stock to rise massively. Despite all that, he despised being part of TUF 24 in a big way.

“At the time, I was miserable,” Elliott told BloodyElbow.com’s The MMA Circus. “I was hungry the whole time. I left a house where I had a wife and a kid and started living with 16 guys who don’t clean up after themselves, don’t flush the toilet. It was a culture shock. If I would have been a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college, it would’ve been awesome; it would’ve been like a vacation. But I hated it. I hated every second of it. Being away from my kid. I’m a stay-at-home dad; I cook, clean and change diapers. It was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done.”

But for Elliott, not absolutely everything was negative. Despite everything he previously stated, he considers being on TUF 24 a “great experience,” mostly because he managed to get through it — something he looks at as an accomplishment in itself.

“A lot of positives came from it,” he said. “Even being away from my kid, I would rather go and give it a try, and even if I failed, that’s the kind of stuff I want her to do. If you want something, you gotta go out there and give it a shot, even if you don’t make it. You’ll never know if you don’t try. So that’s something I’ll have forever, and she’ll be able to share that.

“I met some cool people. The people that work on the show were amazing. All the guys that fought, I thought, were really stand-up guys and really solid guys, so in that sense, it was a really, really positive experience.”

Elliott was concerned that the fact that he didn’t want to be there would show through post-production when TUF 24 aired on FOX Sports 1, but was very pleased with how the show was edited.

“They made me look better on TV than what I expected,” he said. “They did a good job at making the guys look as good as they can and bringing out the best in people. I was anxious to see, because I was not happy to be there a lot of the time, and I thought that that was really going to show. They made it to where it didn’t really show. They focused on the fighting mostly, and that’s what the show should be about. It should be about good guys having good fights.”

Tim Elliott won The Ultimate Fighter 24 and later fought UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, but that doesn’t mean being on the show was an enjoyable experience.

Tim Elliott had a lot to gain from The Ultimate Fighter 24. Not just a ticket back to the UFC, but also a shot at UFC gold. TUF 24 was a unique season of the long-running reality television show, as it gathered 16 regional champions to determine longtime flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson’s next challenger. Elliott was the Titan FC champ going into the show.

Things couldn’t have gone better for Elliott on TUF 24. He kicked his stint on the show off with a submission win over Charlie Alaniz, and then tapped out Matt Schnell in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Elliott got past Eric Shelton by majority decision, and then won the show with a unanimous decision win over Hiromasa Ogikubo in the finals.

Elliott fought “Mighty Mouse” at TUF 24 Finale last December, and actually caused some problems for the pound-for-pound king in the first round. He had Johnson locked up in a tight submission hold, but the champion survived the early scare and bested Elliott in the other four rounds. Elliott walked away with a decision loss on his record.

TUF 24 did a lot for Elliott’s career; it earned him another tenure with the UFC (after being released in 2015) and a title shot, and caused his stock to rise massively. Despite all that, he despised being part of TUF 24 in a big way.

“At the time, I was miserable,” Elliott told BloodyElbow.com’s The MMA Circus. “I was hungry the whole time. I left a house where I had a wife and a kid and started living with 16 guys who don’t clean up after themselves, don’t flush the toilet. It was a culture shock. If I would have been a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college, it would’ve been awesome; it would’ve been like a vacation. But I hated it. I hated every second of it. Being away from my kid. I’m a stay-at-home dad; I cook, clean and change diapers. It was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done.”

But for Elliott, not absolutely everything was negative. Despite everything he previously stated, he considers being on TUF 24 a “great experience,” mostly because he managed to get through it — something he looks at as an accomplishment in itself.

“A lot of positives came from it,” he said. “Even being away from my kid, I would rather go and give it a try, and even if I failed, that’s the kind of stuff I want her to do. If you want something, you gotta go out there and give it a shot, even if you don’t make it. You’ll never know if you don’t try. So that’s something I’ll have forever, and she’ll be able to share that.

“I met some cool people. The people that work on the show were amazing. All the guys that fought, I thought, were really stand-up guys and really solid guys, so in that sense, it was a really, really positive experience.”

Elliott was concerned that the fact that he didn’t want to be there would show through post-production when TUF 24 aired on FOX Sports 1, but was very pleased with how the show was edited.

“They made me look better on TV than what I expected,” he said. “They did a good job at making the guys look as good as they can and bringing out the best in people. I was anxious to see, because I was not happy to be there a lot of the time, and I thought that that was really going to show. They made it to where it didn’t really show. They focused on the fighting mostly, and that’s what the show should be about. It should be about good guys having good fights.”