How Tim Elliott Became Friends With His Most Intimidating Foe
The fight game is a weird place and nothing exemplifies that fact better than Tim Elliott vs. Jared Papazian.
Elliott and Papazian earned a Fight of the Night bonus for their war at The Ultimate Fighter 16 finale on December 15, 2012. Going into the fight, Papazian was the most intimidating person Elliott had ever met. Coming out of the fight, Elliott met Papazian’s grandmother.
“It ended up being a really funny story and I got a Fight of the Night bonus,” Elliott told Fightful. “At the weigh-ins and even before the weigh-ins, I would see him around and he would always be there when I would come out or poke my head out or even when I tried to make weight. Even at the weigh-ins he would get right behind me because they stand us in order. He was standing right behind me and calling me a bitch and a pussy. I’m standing there looking around like, ‘What do I do?'”
“That happened all the way to getting onstage. By the time we’re doing the stare down, he has his face right in my face and he’s flexing and I’m looking away. I was super intimidated and I didn’t want to be anywhere near the guy,” he continued. “Afterwards he was the nicest guy. He introduced me to his family. We’re still friends to this day. His coaches told me after the fight, ‘He likes to get in guys’ heads.’ It totally worked because not only did I not want to fight him, I did not want to be anywhere near him. I fight because it’s fun for me and he was stressing me out. We’re friends now and we talk all the time.”
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
