Photo by Josh Hedges for Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
For the first two rounds of last nights UFC on Fuel TV headliner, Jake Ellenberger looked like the same fighter who had Carlos Condit on the run in the early going of their 2009 bout. Sadly, he had the same issues in the final round of his bout with Diego Sanchez that cost him a decision loss to Condit.
Let's face it, in the early going Jake Ellenberger is a true force of nature. He abolished Jake Shields in 53 seconds. He only needed 5:22 to dispose of Mike Pyle. He damaged John Howard's eye enough in the first frame that by the third the fight had to be stopped.
But we also have to face the reality that few welterweights fade like Ellenberger. He gave the second half of the Condit bout away and very nearly gave the whole fight to Sanchez last night in the third round.
Looking at Fight Metric we can see the way the Ellenberger tide roared into the Octagon with big wins in the first and second rounds and the tide slipped out with a big deficit in the third round as Sanchez got top control and rained down punches and looked for the choke.
If Ellenberger is going to be challenging Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight title anytime soon, he's going to need to focus on finishing Condit early OR rejiggering his whole game to avoid fading in the late rounds, because a five round fight is a whole 'nother ballgame.
SBN coverage of UFC on Fuel TV
0 recs | 55 comments
Answer: No
Let’s see if Hendricks can put away Koscheck unscathed and challenge Condit for the interim title.
UFChamp - February 16, 2012
kos and fitch are ranked higher then sanchez and sheilds imo
So I agree
benten20 - February 16, 2012 via mobile
shields should have been higher.
But I love both Kos & hendricks so I wanna see that fight more.
the-gentle-way - February 17, 2012 via mobile
He actually paced himself too in this fight
Which is kinda worrying.
I think a lot of guys will give him trouble in 5 rounders if they can survive his crazy power.
Tats16 - February 16, 2012
True, but I think Jake employs more top game wrestling in a longer fight.
Guys like Diego, who have great chins and cardio are like kryptonite to his current approach.
Jake has power, but some guys aren’t going to sleep easy, so it’s better to grind them down, which i believe he clan do.
He’s made a name from his KO power, but he’ll need to adjust his approach as he climbs the ladder. if he’s gonna be tired late in fights, he needs to do what he can to ensure his opponenets are,equally tired.
Snatchl - February 16, 2012
The whole top of the division has crazy cardio.
Chris Hall - February 16, 2012 via Android app
Exactly
That’s what I was planning to come in and say. He seemed to be cautious about expending energy, and still fatigued toward the end of the 2nd. He needs better strength and conditioning support. MARINOVICH!!!!!!!
Charles Awad - February 16, 2012
Just win baby, or I'll make you pull the truck back home from San Diego.
menckenstein - February 16, 2012
yeah Jake gassed horribly
at one point it looked like The Dreammare was gonna choke him out
can never count out the crazy man!
Gouken - February 16, 2012
did we watch the same fight?
he gassed, but not HORRRIBLY.
See Ben Rothwell or even Demian Maia in his most recent fight for “gassing horribly”.
Body Triangle - February 16, 2012
The most damage done in the fight was Diego molesting him in the third. I think it was less being gassed and more him being horrible at bjj. He was gassed, without his strength he has no escapes.
the-gentle-way - February 17, 2012 via mobile
I think he is fine.
diego was hitting him on the ground but it didn’t seem like it was hurting him. More of an annoyance. Just because he made a mistake grappling wise doesn’t mean he is a guy who gasses.
NEW-HAMPSHIRE - February 16, 2012
He seemed to have noticeably slowed down in the later half of the third and it's not the first it has happened.
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
You sir
receive 1 high five coupon for the appropriate use of “rejiggering”. This coupon is redeemable from anyone, at anytime. Even funerals.
Avap - February 16, 2012
condit ellenberger II is a fucking awesome fight
since diaz is gone its the best possible fight they can make for the division
milk72 - February 16, 2012
here here.
Body Triangle - February 16, 2012
I think the big part of his “fade” in the third round was just based on that slip up/mistake that allowed Diego to get top position, it wasn’t so much that he completely gassed/faded out; he just made an error and almost got f’d up for it.
Patrick Tenney - February 16, 2012
But if you look at that third round though, it was different from the other rounds even before Sanchez got top control. Ellenberger, for example, was going for a lot more takedowns that weren’t set up and got stuffed. Sanchez was actually hitting him a couple more times in the standup in that third round as well. I don’t know if he was just coasting, but his overall performance in the third was not like the first and second.
chrisbboy82 - February 16, 2012
I agree, I just don’t think he completely ran out of gas or faded “too much”, I think to a degree he was coasting, to a degree Diego was finally adjusting, and to a third degree he was getting tired after punching Diego in the face repeatedly every time Diego would rush in and drop back.
I don’t think his performance in the third round is something to be hugely worried about, is it something that shows what he needs to work on? Yes, but as far as an Achilles heel, not so fast.
Patrick Tenney - February 16, 2012
But Jake is in a division with guys who are cardio machines. Initially, Jake was using excellent footwork to avoid Diego’s striking but that disappeared by the 3rd round. He also was going for weaker takedowns with no set up as stated above. This could prove very much a problem if anyone can take him to the championship rounds.
GreyedOut - February 16, 2012
agreed
he gave Sanchez an opening and he was on it like a dog on meat.
T.P. Grant - February 16, 2012
I think Ellenberger made a mental slip in the third round last night
He tried to grab hold of Sanchez but didn’t have control, so he was easily bucked off because he had no control of Sanchez’s hips.
If Ellenberger spent time drilling breakdowns and rides – something he should already be familiar with form a wrestling background – he can reduce the risk of scrambles and an opponent finding an opening like Sanchez did last night.
KJ Gould - February 16, 2012
“Very nearly gave up the whole face last night…”
Well I agree Diego did hit him in the face a lot, I’m not sure thats what you meant.
Chris Hall - February 16, 2012 via Android app
He still had some gas in the tank
Afrotikiman - February 16, 2012 via mobile
Give him one more fight
then give him a title shot. Didn’t really impress me that much. I mean if he would had of ko’d Sanchez quick he could would had earn it. And the gassing in the third was a no no. He looked desperate in the third when he got tired. Jake vs Kos/Johnny winner?
MMA214 - February 16, 2012 via mobile
delete *could
MMA214 - February 16, 2012 via mobile
Diego can’t be KO’d
Afrotikiman - February 16, 2012 via mobile
He hasn’t been ko’d dosent mean he can’t.
MMA214 - February 16, 2012 via mobile
delete *could
MMA214 - February 16, 2012 via mobile
They should ditch the “no five round main events for FUEL/FX” policy.
Machiel Van - February 16, 2012
Just saw the Dana post-fight interview. Looks like my wish has been granted :)
Machiel Van - February 16, 2012
I'm so fucking glad that all the main events will be 5 rounds!
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
As long as there are no heavyweight MEs.
menckenstein - February 16, 2012
If it was up to me you'd barely see heavyweights on main cards, let alone main events.
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
There aren't many UFC HWs worth watching honestly.
The prospects can’t even beat the “washed up” guys.
menckenstein - February 16, 2012
Ben Rothwell vs Sean McCorkle 5 rounder would be amazing.
Tats16 - February 16, 2012
Well I sat through all 5 rounds of Grishin-Garner, I'm ready for anything.
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
To me the end of the fight was a combination of him starting to tire out and Diego finally really turing up the intensity. I feel like Diego waited until the very end to go into that ultra aggressive mode and sort of swarm Ellenberger. In a way I feel that if Diego would have been so overly aggressive early on he may have done much better in the fight over all.
attgnp - February 16, 2012
He didn’t have the sense of urgency earlier in the fight.
Machiel Van - February 16, 2012
Because he was getting smashed in the face with counter punches.
discoandherpes - February 16, 2012
I agree, he was missing that intensity until the third round. I feel like the fight would have been different if he had been on like that from the first
jammin.. - February 16, 2012
He was missing that intensity because he was getting punched in the face everytime he tried to close the distance.
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
true
but I feel like what he did in the third was pretty much walk through a few to get his in and just kept being relentless. I understand he was being countered but his aggressivenes at the end sort of seemed to overcome the counters.
attgnp - February 16, 2012
I attribute that more to Ellenberger slowing down than Diego turning it up.
Sweet Scientist - February 16, 2012
He’s ready in the sense that be should get a main event fight, which are now all 5 rounds, but his cardio isn’t up for it. He wasn’t really that active with a very high amount of offense in round 1, had only one grappling sequence in round 2, and then faded badly. He won, but I think Kampman looked better vs Diego than Ellenberger did. A stronger guy with netters wrestling will be his worst matchup, like Story who soundly beat him pre UFC. Hrs also not going to beat Condit, GSP, Hendricks, or likely Kos.
Hardcharger - February 16, 2012 via mobile
I don’t know if he needs to rejigger his whole game, but he could probably tinker or fiddle with his game a bit.
Baba Booey - February 16, 2012
all i know is i love seeing a fighter getting beat and coming back like diego did, wins dont matter in mma, it’s all about displaying heart…bravo DIEGO!!
ShogunDaChamp - February 16, 2012
bravo like always!!
ShogunDaChamp - February 16, 2012
and if i could place a bet beginning round 4 in that fight i would have picked diego
ShogunDaChamp - February 16, 2012
Good article Nate....
….I think you covered the problem with Ellenberger as a top contender perfectly.
Very good early, fades late. Is this a conditioning problem or is it a strategy concern? As in, perhaps Ellenberger should bring a more controlled game to the first round and not put so much power into every punch.
I don’t think he can challenge for the title after a performance like this one. One of the biggest no-no’s in MMA is gassing in a title fight. There is no excuse for it and true champions never run out of gas.
It’s the same reason why I didn’t really want to see Dan Henderson get a title shot after the Shogun fight.
Luke Nelson - February 16, 2012
I certainly hope this was deliberate
awesome phrase
Cunny - February 16, 2012
Hahaha
Charles Awad - February 16, 2012
i dont get why shields gets so much hate, he has plenty of finishes and always displays skill and technique. His striking sucks but oh well, he has heart (see hendo fight) and he may not have had an exciting fight but he’s more exciting to watch then guys like fitch or something, who i even enjoy watching tbh
ShogunDaChamp - February 16, 2012
i like shields a lot
i just love the idea of abolishing someone
like you completely erased them from existence with your own personal power and authority
hate watching fitch, but shields always puts on interesting technical grappling clinics full of sub attempts that i generally love to watch
Cunny - February 16, 2012
typo: “may not have had an exciting fight” should read “may not have had an exciting fight in the UFC”
ShogunDaChamp - February 16, 2012
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