Once considered top of their class at welterweight, former UFC contenders Jake Ellenberger and Josh Koscheck have since faded into obscurity.
Ellenberger and Koscheck will go to war at UFC 184 looking to regain some resemblance of respectability. Neither fighter rides into their meeting inside the Staples Center on February 28 with any kind of momentum.
Both carry the burden of shouldering three-fight losing streaks into their upcoming Octagon foray. “Kos” has been on an extended vacation away from the cage and hasn’t fought in over 15 months. He was last seen at UFC 167 being dismantled in the first round by Tyron Woodley.
Meanwhile, “The Juggernaut” last competed at UFC 180, succumbing to a first-round rear-naked choke from Kelvin Gastelum. Ellenberger and Koscheck have both been finished in back-to-back contests.
The pair have seen much better days and losing certainly takes both a physical and mental toll. Such losing can force a fighter who’s competing at the apex of his sport to reassess their long-term goals.
In Ellenberger‘s case, switching up the game plan was a no-brainer. Ellenberger told Bleacher Report’s Duane Finley:
I’m stoked about the matchup, and I’m excited for the fight. I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments in my camp, and that is what this sport is really all about. You have to evolve and make adjustments, and I’ve really had to dissect a lot of things about myself. I had to take a good look inside because it’s not specifically the battle with your opponent but the battle within yourself.
Motivation can be a beautiful thing. It can either help or hinder you and it’s something that Finley touched on.
“Whereas a fighter typically measured success in wins and losses, the process of progress is what ultimately provides fuel to his motivational fires,” Finley wrote.
As The Juggernaut continues to climb out the hole he is currently in, he has used the last three months and change to reflect on his mixed martial arts career from a personal standpoint.
“It’s all about evolving both mentally and physically. I’m focused, and I’m in the best psychological state I’ve been in quite some time,” Ellenberger said.
Most recently as this past weekend, the MMA world bore witness to what a lengthy layoff can do for a fighter’s mental state. Similarly to Ellenberger, former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir was battling back from a disastrous losing streak to take on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in Brazil.
Mir hadn’t won a fight in over three years. The 35-year-old also failed to allow his body to fully recuperate and neglected to tend to the wear and tear each passing fight inflicted upon his 260-pound frame.
Mir since defeated Silva with strikes in the first round at UFC Fight Night 61 this past weekend. Mir told Finley prior to his fight with Silva:
The one thing we kind of ingrain as fighters is we become delusional. Surely mental toughness is a big part of our sport, and it’s a great thing to have in life, but that is not really what makes great men great. Intelligently navigating through obstacles and giving yourself the best opportunities to perform at a high level is what matters.
It wasn’t long ago that the former Top 10 welterweight Ellenberger was held in high regard. In March 2013, the Reign MMA stud put Nate Marquardt to sleep three minutes into their UFC 158 bout.
The win gave Ellenberger his second straight victory. It also brought his UFC record to 8-2.
Then, he went on to face a pair of insurmountable welterweights, Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler, both of whom are currently the No. 1 contender and champion, respectively.
When he’s at his best, Ellenberger is rocking foes senseless and taking them down at will. The former NCAA Division II wrestler from the University of Nebraska-Omaha averages close to three takedowns per contest, according to FightMetric, and has 18 career knockouts to his credit.
Kos is also a proud member of the power-punching stable of wrestlers at 170 pounds.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 veteran was a former standout Division I wrestler from the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He has used his mat prowess to stifle strikers like Paul Daley in the past.
However, as of late, he’s preferred to stand and bang with his adversaries. Though he’s had a tough time getting a finish, Koscheck‘s patented overhand right has found the mark on several occasions, including tilts with Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg.
Back in his heyday, the 37-year-old was keen at finishing foes. Kos vaulted himself into title contention off the strength of his one-punch power.
The Dethrone Base Camp fighter went 4-1 over an 18-month stretch between December 2008 and May 2010, finishing the likes of Anthony Johnson and Trigg. Koscheck, though, couldn’t help but resort to using questionable tactics to secure victory on multiple occasions.
In regards to his UFC 106 win over “Rumble,” Koscheck may or may not have faked an apparent eye injury, which was caused by an illegal Johnson knee. He used the time in which he was checked out by a cageside doctor to recover and finish Johnson via a second-round rear-naked choke.
And in his unanimous-decision win over Paul Daley at UFC 113, Kos was put in a similar situation and was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Dan Miragliotta.
Koscheck would later coach opposite longtime 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre on TUF 12. He lost to the Canadian in a one-sided drubbing at UFC 124.
Although UFC President Dana White said that a post-UFC 167 text he received from the California-based fighter “sounded like retirement,” Koscheck told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto in March “I have two more fights on my contract, and I plan on fighting those out and seeing if I want to continue.”
“I’ve been training my whole life, I’ve never had a break. I feel like I need to get away and take some time off and enjoy life.”
He’ll come back and grace the Octagon once again for the 24th time in his career when he takes on a younger clone of himself in The Juggernaut this weekend.
As long as both men are in shape and healthy, we could be in store for a rock em’, sock em’ welterweight war. Each have had their bouts with injury but appear to be in tip-top shape mentally and physically.
Ellenberger will have youth on his side. Unlike Koscheck, Ellenberger isn’t battling father time. The Nebraskan turns 30 years old exactly one month from Saturday.
There’s plenty of time for him to make another title run. Koscheck‘s run as a member of the 170-pound elite is far gone.
That’s not to say Kos won’t be as explosive as he has ever been come Saturday night, but the deck is stacked against him. “Koscheck admits he underestimated the speed of his last performance,” said Okamoto.
“Woodley was very, very fast, and he closed the distance on me well,” Koscheck said.
Ellenberger is no stranger to underwhelming performances either. He was one half of a UFC on Fox 8 snoozefest with MacDonald.
The Ellenberger-Koscheck pairing is important to both fighters for drastically different reasons. One fighter is attempting to climb the 170-pound ladder again, while the other is simply trying to preserve his legacy.
Koscheck‘s legacy is already cemented. He’s challenged for a title and was one of the first modern-day heel characters to call the UFC home.
One of the TUF originals, Koscheck will move into a four-way tie for third place on the All-Time list for most UFC bouts on Saturday with 24.
It’s going to take a staunch effort from Kos to topple The Juggernaut on fight night.
Ellenberger will hold a speed advantage. He’s also made far more use of his hands than Koscheck in his 13-fight UFC career.
Should Koscheck look to shoot for a takedown, Ellenberger will have an answer there too. He’s only surrendered two takedowns, per FightMetric, in his entire Octagon career.
Leading up to their meeting in Los Angeles, The Juggernaut remains a slight favorite, per Fox Sports, over his welterweight counterpart.
It’s kind of hard to see Koscheck winning but then again, people also doubted Mir’s chances against Silva. However, his chin appears to be dissipating right before our very eyes.
He’s lost two straight bouts via knockout.
Kos is in the same boat as “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell was towards the end of his Hall of Fame career. Will UFC 184 be his swan song?
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