UFC flyweight veteran Tim Elliott recently addressed one of his most talked-about tattoos during an appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, providing context behind the controversial “black power fist” ink on his chest that has sparked questions throughout his career.
Elliott, who has competed in the UFC for years, explained the unusual circumstances behind getting the tattoo. “I had a friend in college that was a little bit of a tattooer and I was talking s**t to him when I was drunk and then I woke up the next morning with this tattooed on my chest,” Elliott revealed. “So I thought I got in a fight cuz my shirt was stuck to me and I ended up with this.”
The tattoo, which Elliott describes as originating from a Rage Against the Machine poster, features what appears to be a raised fist design. “It’s from a Rage Against the Machine poster, but it’s like a rise up fist,” he explained to hosts on the podcast.
When Elliott first entered the UFC, the organization questioned him about several of his tattoos, including the fist design. “When I first got in the UFC, they asked about this,” Elliott said. “They were asking if they were racist. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t think so. I got it in Mexico, but there’s Aryan like eagles and stuff.'”
The contender acknowledged that the tattoo’s appearance has caused confusion throughout his career. Elliott also has another tattoo that he received in Mexico while intoxicated, which he says is Mayan in origin but has been mistaken for other symbols.
Despite the controversy surrounding the tattoo’s appearance, Elliott maintains it was never intended to carry any racial or political message.
A similar incident also happened during a JRE Fight Companion episode. Joe Rogan corrected Brendan Schaub after he compared Cain Velasquez’s “Brown Pride” tattoo to a hypothetical “White Pride” tattoo.
Schaub argued there would be backlash if a white fighter had such ink, but Rogan quickly shut it down, explaining the historical context. He pointed out that Mexicans haven’t subjugated white people in modern history, making the two situations incomparable.
Rogan emphasized that cultural pride carries different weight depending on the history of oppression and power dynamics behind it.
