Darren Elkins and Daniel Pineda meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 245 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda UFC Fight Night 245 preview
Elkins (28-11 MMA, 18-10 UFC) has traded wins and losses over his last four fights, and enters his first fight in a year after a third-round submission win over TJ Brown. The 40-year-old grizzled veteran last put together back-to-back wins when he finished Eduardo Garagorri in November 2020 and Darrick Minner in July 2021. … Pineda (28-16 MMA, 5-7 UFC) has dropped back-to-back fights against Nathaniel Wood and Alex Caceres. The 39-year-old’s last victory was a second-round submission of Tucker Lutz last March.
Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda UFC Fight Night 245 expert pick, prediction
Kicking off the main card is a proper featherweight action between Elkins and Pineda that would make Joe Silva proud.
Elkins, who reminds me of the Matt Damon doll in “Team America,” is a fan favorite to all for the blood and guts wars he’s graced us with.
And though he’s not as popular as a name, Pineda deserves similar distinctions due to his fan-friendly style of prioritizing finishes over winning rounds.
Both men are toward the tail end of their careers given their age, yet each fights with the fervor of a 20-year-old trying to prove their manhood.
But that aside, the dynamic of this fight is fairly clear: either Pineda will finish his foe early, or Elkins will come on strong to drag things out late.
Despite tending to side with the latter part of that equation, I find myself liking the Pineda side in this spot.
Not only is Pineda’s striking too potent to overlook opposite an aging Elkins, but “The Pit” is quietly one of the most dangerous submission grapplers in that division – so don’t be surprised to see a submission win this Saturday.
The pick is Pineda to score a club-and-sub win via guillotine in Round 2.
Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda UFC Fight Night 245 odds
Although the oddsmakers opened the slightly younger fighter as a slight favorite, public money pushed this contest to pick’em odds, listing Pineda -106 and Elkins -114 via FanDuel.
Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda UFC Fight Night 245 start time, how to watch
As the main card opener, Elkins and Pineda are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:05 p.m. ET (4:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.
