Ben Saunders will replace the injured Bryan Barberena at UFC Utica, as he takes on Jake Ellenberger.
Jake Ellenberger has his new opponent for June 1st in Utica, New York.
The veteran welterweight was expected to face Bryan Barberena, but a Barberena injury nixed that idea. Instead, Ellenberger will now take on Ben Saunders, UFC officials announced on Thursday.
Ellenberger (31-13) has won just two of his last nine fights, and is coming off a brutal KO loss to Mike Perry last April. “The Juggernaut” hasn’t experienced victory since stopping Matt Brown with strikes in the summer of 2016.
Saunders (21-9-2) is also on a two-fight losing streak, having been knocked out by both Peter Sobotta and most recently Alan Jouban. The Jouban fight earned “Killa B” Fight of the Night honors back at UFC Orlando in February. Saunders’ last win was a decision over Court McGee in January 2017.
These two were actually scheduled to fight each other at UFC 111 way back in 2010, but when Thiago Alves was forced out of his matchup with Jon Fitch, Saunders stepped up and took on Fitch, while Ellenberger was scrapped from the card.
UFC Fight Night: Utica is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight fight between top contenders Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes. The night’s main card airs live on FS1.