Surging welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger will attempt to capture his sixth straight octagon win and thrust himself into the No. 1 contender debate on February 15, and he’ll need a win over Diego Sanchez to do it.
The UFC confirmed the two will square off in the first installment of the UFC on FUEL. Previously, UFC president Dana White had said all non-title main events going forward would be five rounds, the announcement noted that the main event matchup would be a three-round bout, but no explanation was given for the change.
Ellenberger (26-5) has vaulted himself into the division’s top 10 with a series of dynamic recent performances. In his most recent bout, he knocked out former No. 1 contender Jake Shields in just 53 seconds. Prior to that, he’d stopped three of four opponents via KO or TKO.
Sanchez (23-4) has captured two straight since struggling in his return to welterweight after a run at 155. In his most recent bout, he earned the judges’ nod in a controversial unanimous decision against Martin Kampmann.
The UFC said the inaugural FUEL event would take place in Ellenberger’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, though they did not specify a venue. The likely landing spot is the CenturyLink Center Omaha, an 18,300-seat arena.
The new broadcast partner, FUEL, is a unit of FOX cable networks and is expected to host over 2,000 hours of UFC programming in 2012. According to TV by the Numbers, the channel is currently available in just over 32 million U.S. households, about 27 percent of available homes.