TUF 24 Finale: Tim Elliott moving up to bantamweight after cut to flyweight for Demetrious Johnson title fight ‘killed him’

Tim Elliott may have won over many new fans last night during his Flyweight title fight against Demetrious Johnson at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, after taking “Mighty Mouse” to the limit in a five-round affair (see it again here), but the days of him competing at 125 pounds could be over.

That’s because the former Titan FC Flyweight champion says he will likely move up to the Bantamweight division since his latest efforts to hit the 125 pound mark proved to be too much.

“I’d like to go up to (135 pounds),” Elliott declared during the post-fight presser (see it again here). “The weight cut killed me. The morning of the weight cut I was hurting pretty bad. The first time I’ve ever told my coaches I was done,” he said.

In fact, to hear Tim tell it, if it wasn’t for his team convincing him otherwise, he would have forfeited 20 percent of his purse to Johnson if it meant they allowed him to quite cutting the pounds in the sauna.

Thankfully, he teammates wouldn’t let him stop.

“I told James Krause I wasn’t going back in the sauna. I told him I would give up the 20 percent; I didn’t care about the belt. He made me get back in there,” said Elliott. Furthermore, since he competes in MMA for fun, seeing as how it “doesn’t pay that well,” it doesn’t make sense for him to go through a tough process to lose the excess weight.

“He made me cut the weight, and I appreciate that he did that. But, everything about this sport is fun for me. I do it because it’s fun. It doesn’t pay that well, so I feel like I could really compete at 135, when I feel good and I feel strong.”

Of course, has he failed to hit his mark, not only would he have to give up part of his purse, but the fight would’ve turned into a non-title bout.

That said, a move up to 135 pounds could improve Tim’s performances moving forward, as he admitted that during his fight against “Mighty Mouse” he had uncontrollable cramping in his stomach; something he said was because of the tough weight cut.

Nevertheless, Elliott powered through and gave the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet all he could handle for a full five rounds, proving to the world that he is as game as they come.

And though he didn’t have his Matt Serra moment by upsetting the champion, he likely secured himself several more fights inside the eight-walled cage. If his career is short-lived with the promotion, Elliot says he will have no problems getting work in another fight promotion.

But, judging by his latest performance, it’s safe to assume he will be sticking around UFC for a while.

For complete TUF 24 Finale results and coverage click here.

Tim Elliott may have won over many new fans last night during his Flyweight title fight against Demetrious Johnson at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, after taking “Mighty Mouse” to the limit in a five-round affair (see it again here), but the days of him competing at 125 pounds could be over.

That’s because the former Titan FC Flyweight champion says he will likely move up to the Bantamweight division since his latest efforts to hit the 125 pound mark proved to be too much.

“I’d like to go up to (135 pounds),” Elliott declared during the post-fight presser (see it again here). “The weight cut killed me. The morning of the weight cut I was hurting pretty bad. The first time I’ve ever told my coaches I was done,” he said.

In fact, to hear Tim tell it, if it wasn’t for his team convincing him otherwise, he would have forfeited 20 percent of his purse to Johnson if it meant they allowed him to quite cutting the pounds in the sauna.

Thankfully, he teammates wouldn’t let him stop.

“I told James Krause I wasn’t going back in the sauna. I told him I would give up the 20 percent; I didn’t care about the belt. He made me get back in there,” said Elliott. Furthermore, since he competes in MMA for fun, seeing as how it “doesn’t pay that well,” it doesn’t make sense for him to go through a tough process to lose the excess weight.

“He made me cut the weight, and I appreciate that he did that. But, everything about this sport is fun for me. I do it because it’s fun. It doesn’t pay that well, so I feel like I could really compete at 135, when I feel good and I feel strong.”

Of course, has he failed to hit his mark, not only would he have to give up part of his purse, but the fight would’ve turned into a non-title bout.

That said, a move up to 135 pounds could improve Tim’s performances moving forward, as he admitted that during his fight against “Mighty Mouse” he had uncontrollable cramping in his stomach; something he said was because of the tough weight cut.

Nevertheless, Elliott powered through and gave the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet all he could handle for a full five rounds, proving to the world that he is as game as they come.

And though he didn’t have his Matt Serra moment by upsetting the champion, he likely secured himself several more fights inside the eight-walled cage. If his career is short-lived with the promotion, Elliot says he will have no problems getting work in another fight promotion.

But, judging by his latest performance, it’s safe to assume he will be sticking around UFC for a while.

For complete TUF 24 Finale results and coverage click here.