Less than 48 hours after the signature win of his career thus far, Jake Ellenberger hasn’t quite fully digested his knockout of Jake Shields at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 25. It’s not that Ellenberger is surprised he won. After all, it’s a fight he asked for, and he basically predicted the result.
But the manner in which he won — becoming the first man to finish Shields in 11 years, and doing it in just 53 seconds — seems a little surreal, even to him.
“It’s something I’m still definitely trying to wrap my head around,” Ellenberger said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “It happened quick, and Jake’s definitely one of the best guys I’ve ever fought so it feels great. It’s definitely a big win for me.”
Ellenberger says that from studying Shields’ past fights, he always felt that his own style would match up well. Couple that with what he perceived to be a speed advantage along with his wrestling skills, and it was a recipe for the upset.
“I know he was looking to take me down and I really wasn’t that worried about it,” he said. “I saw openings and I knew I definitely had the potential to knock him out. But happening the way it did is still kind of surreal.”
The win rocketed him into the conversation of welterweight title contenders. Ellenberger is now 26-5 overall and has won five straight in the UFC, with four of those coming via stoppage.
He said that he hopes to face a highly ranked opponent and would like to fight again before the end of 2011. Ellenberger said that though he’s aware he probably opened a few eyes over the weekend, that takes a backseat to his goal of fighting for the UFC title.
“I’m not really looking for attention,” he said. “I’m not in the sport for attention. My goal is a world title and that’s what it’s been since day 1. The more attention the better, but I’m blessed to be where I’m at and do what I love and be part of the UFC. It’s been great.”
Though he called out Shields dating back to last year, Ellenberger says he’s not asking for anyone specific this time around. His goal is the title, and he’ll continue to work towards that. As he waits for his next matchup, Ellenberger will keep an eye on the welterweight title picture, where he says Carlos Condit has a “great chance” of upsetting Georges St-Pierre in October because of his fearlessness and power.
Those are some of the same traits that Ellenberger believes could eventually help him should he ever earn a chance to fight GSP. Like any top fighter, he’d like to beat the best, and likes his chances against the division’s current king. Citing St-Pierre’s tendency to “play it safe a little bit,” along with his own strengths, Ellenberger thinks he might just be the man to surprise the MMA world again.
“GSP is phenomenal, if not the best fighter in world,” he said. “He’s someone you have to pressure. You definitely have to pressure him. You can’t stay back on him and let him control the distance and the range. He’s definitely beatable. Him and Jake Shields had a great fight. He’s proven. I don’t know how many times he defended his title, but anyone can be beat. I’m confident I can beat him. Like I said, anyone can be beat, and to beat a guy like GSP, you’d have to keep pressure and look for some holes. He may not have very many, but they’re there.”