NEW ORLEANS – In the battle of the two Jakes, Ellenberger dismantled Shields quickly in the first round, and he’s an extra $55,000 richer because of it.
In the main event of UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans on Saturday, Jake Ellenberger stopped Jake Shields with a 54-second TKO – his fifth straight win in the welterweight division. After the fight, UFC president Dana White awarded Ellenberger the Knockout of the Night bonus of $55,000.
The night’s other bonus winners were Lance Benoist and Matt Riddle for Fight of the Night and TJ Waldburger for Submission of the Night, a first-round triangle choke win over Mike Stumpf, who was making his UFC debut.
Ellenberger became the first fighter to stop Shields since 2000, Shields’ first pro loss in his third fight. Shields, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, went more than six years without a loss before he fell to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in April. Shields now has two straight losses for the first time in his career, and falls to 1-2 in the UFC – his lone win being a controversial split decision over Martin Kampmann in his debut last October.
Ellenberger’s fifth straight win was also his fourth KO or TKO in his last five fights. The win is likely to put him squarely into the welterweight title picture. St-Pierre defends his title against Carlos Condit next month, with BJ Penn and Nick Diaz also in consideration.
Waldburger recorded the night’s first submission, and it held up with three other submissions on the night, plus a verbal tappet. The former Shark Fights welterweight champion is now 2-1 since joining the UFC last year.
And Benoist and Riddle may have had little competition for their Fight of the Night win, a back-and-forth battle with plenty of blood that Benoist won by a 29-28 unanimous decision. Benoist was making his UFC debut and stays unbeaten in his pro career at 6-0.