Photos: The best images from UFC 209, including Darren Elkins' epic bloody comeback TKO

UFC 209 lost a title bout on a day’s notice, but that may have had some of the card’s fighters extra anxious to make their marks.

The UFC 209 main event welterweight title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen Thompson seemed to leave the harshest of critics underwhelmed.

But never fear: Darren Elkins did his best to make up for it. Elkins got flat-out brutalized in the first round by Mirsad Bektic in their featherweight fight. The second round didn’t go much better, though Elkins at least managed to stay a lot less bloody than in the first round. But in the third, he rallied big time – and knocked Bektic out with a head kick to complete not only an improbable comeback, but one of the UFC’s most notable upsets in recent memory. Bektic was a 7-1 favorite in the fight.

The rest of UFC 209 had some exciting finishes, including newcomer Cynthia Calvillo pulling off a gorgeous submission on the main card and veteran Alistair Overeem delivering a sensational KO of his own.

UFC 209 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following preliminary bouts on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Now you can take a look back at the event through the lens of USA TODAY Sports photographer Joe Camporeale. Above, check out a video of some of the best images from the card.

And for complete coverage of UFC 209, check out the UFC Events section of the site.