Despite a 2-7 record in his last nine fights, UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger intends to fight on.
UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger was once one of the top contenders in his division, but with just two wins in his last nine, it’s clear that he’s considerably far away from title contention.
Despite the massive slide in form, “The Juggernaut” intends to continue his career.
“In my 12 years of fighting, that was the best preparation leading up to a fight camp that I’ve ever had,” Ellenberger told MMAjunkie Radio. “You can’t point any fingers to what happened. Everything was right, everything was on the money. It was particularly frustrating for this fight, because moving forward, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I know I’m not done fighting, and I think we have the right recipe.
“If I wake up and I didn’t want to fight or didn’t have that chip on my shoulder or that burning desire – it’s time to move on. That’s an easy question to answer. But there’s some people out there who want to make another paycheck.”
Ellenberger is coming off a TKO loss to Ben Saunders at UFC Utica earlier this month. Saunders caught Ellenberger with a knee to the liver, causing him to go down to the canvas in serious pain. It’s his third consecutive KO/TKO loss, and fifth overall during this 2-7 run. The Saunders bout was his first in 14 months, and he says that he “felt great” in the lead-up to fight night.
As far as what’s next for the 33-year-old, he plans to meet with UFC president Dana White, and in an ideal world, the Nebraskan would be part of UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Iaquinta in Lincoln on August 25th.
“I’m going to sit down and talk to Dana, and we’ll see,” Ellenberger said. “I have no idea what’s next. We’re talking August (at UFC Fight Night 135), September maybe. But I can’t give you any certainty.”