Back in September of 2025, Evan Elder was scheduled to throw down with recent headliner Tom Nolan. He was geared up for the event and knew how big of an opportunity it might be to move him forward. However, an ankle injury dropped him for the fight and left him with nearly 20 consecutive months without a fight.
Despite being unable to train for some large chunks of that time, Elder still feels he was able to grow quite a bit.
“Not to be too philosophical or anything like that, but I really believe that we can always be getting better somewhere,” Elder explained. “I’m still pretty much almost always doing something physical. There’s very few injuries – actually ankles and knees, lower body injuries are specifically a little bit more difficult to work around – but nonetheless, I still think you can work around them.”
Not only did he find ways to work around the physical side of things, but there are other ways to improve as well. Taking up the mental side of the game and using visualization, Elder felt like he was making improvements every moment he was in the gym – no matter how banged up he was.
“I was working on a lot while I was injured physically – like corrective exercises for the rest of my body. Trying to heal up and strengthen shoulders and hips and back and stuff like that while my ankle is also undergoing recovery,” he explained. “Then with that being said, just watching tape, watching practice, thinking about, how to do and perform specific techniques.”
Although it’s not ideal, Elder actually feels like the tough times are what help you grow the most. And it’s what will help him here as he finally gets a chance to show out again.
“It really is always in those moments of frustration and discomfort – just being aggravated or uncomfortable with where you are – that the most growth happens,” Elder explained. “I think that keeping a positive perspective ultimately allows you to be far more consistent and consistency is what’s going to beat anything.”
You can catch Elder’s next chance to show off the fruits of his labor at UFC 334. Elder fights Samuel Sanches as part of the UFC 334 prelims. The card begins at 5pm EST and airs exclusively on Paramount+.
You can also catch the entire audio of this interview on the latest edition of the Top Turtle MMA Podcast. The interview airs at 21:48.