Darren Elkins wears “The Damage” across his chest, with a dragon-like design extending over his left shoulder and upper arm. The lettering is his UFC nickname; the photos show how the two pieces sit together without forming one continuous panel.

The Damage lettering across the chest

A photo after Elkins’ January 2018 win over Michael Johnson shows the two-line chest inscription. “The” sits above the larger “Damage,” written in rough-edged letters with short crosswise marks along some strokes.
The chest is the clearest location for his nickname. The image dates the visible design to January 2018, but doesn’t give the tattoo’s appointment date or artist.

A closer look at the chest tattoo

A closer photo after the April 2022 fight with Tristan Connelly shows the uneven edges and stitched-looking marks in the letters. Elkins’ UFC profile says “The Damage” came from his bruising easily and cutting quickly. He embraced the nickname with humor, rather than trying to hide it.

The dragon across the left chest and shoulder

During the October 2023 exchange with TJ Brown, Elkins is on the right in blue shorts. A dragon-like head sits high on his left chest beside the lettering, with dark shapes and a few red-toned areas continuing toward the shoulder.
The creature has a curved outline, pointed details and an open-looking jaw. Brown’s tattoos in the same frame belong to Brown. The 2018 photo already shows left-side artwork, so the 2023 image doesn’t establish when the dragon was added.

The dragon on the left upper arm

A grappling photo from the Brown fight reveals the curled part of the design on Elkins’ left upper arm. Dark, scale-like texture follows the arm, with a red area inside the curve. The pose brings this surface toward the camera and hides the chest words.
The images show the creature crossing the left chest, shoulder and upper arm, but don’t establish the order in which those areas were tattooed. For a different MMA layout, see Alessio Sakara’s tattoos.

The result against TJ Brown

The wider result photo places Elkins on the left, the referee in the middle and Brown on the right. The chest nickname and dark left-side piece are still visible, but the closer photos above are better for their details.
The MMA Fighting interview below was recorded at the July 2017 open workouts. Elkins talks about the Damage tattoo, his comeback against Mirsad Bektic and his work as a pipefitter.