UFC Fight Night 27 results: Resilient Darren Elkins outlasts a game Hatsu Hioki

INDIANAPOLIS – After his first setback as a UFC featherweight, Darren Elkins has reestablished himself as a serious threat in the division.

Outworking the game Hatsu Hioki, who fought far more like the top-ranked fighter he was than in previous showings, Elkins earned a unanimous-decision win.

The bout was part of today’s UFC Fight Night 27 event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It aired on FOX Sports 2 following additional prelims on Facebook and ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

Elkins, who’s ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA featherweight rankings, earned scores of 29-28 after three hard-fought rounds.

Early on, “The Damage” was nearly wrecked by several well-placed kicks to the body from Hioki, who did his best work midway through the first round. The onslaught forced Elkins to close the distance and turn the fight into a slugfest, and later use his wrestling.

Hioki was no easy customer to keep on the mat, and the two engaged in several entertaining scrambles in the second round, with the Japanese vet once threatening a choke as Elkins struggled to control.

Both fighters were noticeably tired going into the third round, but Elkins was able to use his wrestling to smother Hioki, which likely sealed his win on the judges’ scorecards.

Elkins (17-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is back in the featherweight title picture after Chad Mendes brought his five-fight win streak to a halt in March. Hioki (26-7-2 MMA, 2-3 UFC), a former Shooto and Sengoku champ, continues to stumble in the UFC with three straight losses.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 27 results include:

• Darren Elkins def. Hatsu Hioki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jason High def. James Head via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:41
• Zak Cummings def. Ben Alloway via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 4:19
• Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo declared a no-contest (unintentional illegal knee) – Round 2, 4:57

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 27, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Indianapolis.