Tag: Diego Sanchez

Jake Ellenberger on Diego Sanchez: "I Want To Break Him Mentally"

Former UFC title challenger Diego Sanchez is one of the toughest fighters to finish in the UFC, but welterweight standout Jake Ellenberger—who holds 17 knockout victories and 23 wins overall—plans on stopping him at UFC on Fuel TV…

Former UFC title challenger Diego Sanchez is one of the toughest fighters to finish in the UFC, but welterweight standout Jake Ellenberger—who holds 17 knockout victories and 23 wins overall—plans on stopping him at UFC on Fuel TV in February.

“All I am thinking about is destroying Diego, breaking him mentally,” Ellenberger told MMA Prime. “I can beat him anywhere the fight goes, and all I am focusing on is that victory right there.”

Ellenberger, who is considered by many to be the hardest-hitting welterweight in the UFC, is coming off a TKO victory over former Strikeforce welterweight champion Jake Shields, who he stopped just 53 seconds into the first round. Shields had been coming off a unanimous decision loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre prior to that fight.

“Some people think it’s a little bit arrogant, it’s a little bit cocky, but it’s confidence,” Ellenberger continued. “That’s the only way I can put it. I am better than him. I feel I am better than him everywhere, and we fight a similar way. I’m not going to sit there and try to wrestle him. I want to strike. If he wants to come forward, and strike like he normally does, I welcome it.”

Sanchez is coming off back-to-back victories over Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago. Of his four losses, all but one are by decision, which came after he suffered a deep gash on his forehead in a lightweight title fight versus B.J. Penn. His last two bouts both earned fight of the night bonuses.

“It’s a fantastic matchup,” Ellenberger said. “It’s going to be a high energy fight. I’m looking forward to it. I guarantee you this fight is not going to a decision.”

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10 UFC Fighters Who Need to Move to Strikeforce

With fighters like Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, and King Mo Lawal, Strikeforce has some legitimate talent. The problem is, their talent pool is so limited that unless the organization wants to keep trotting out the same 5 fights as main events over…

With fighters like Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, and King Mo Lawal, Strikeforce has some legitimate talent.

The problem is, their talent pool is so limited that unless the organization wants to keep trotting out the same 5 fights as main events over and over again, they need to either add some talent or create some of their own.

While Strikeforce has valiantly been trying to create stars through their Challengers series over the past few years, the number of marketable fighters they have gained has been minimal and with the Challengers events now defunct, they’ll need to find talent from another source.

Obviously this is alluding to the UFC.

The biggest organization has plenty of fighters who are stuck in the middle of their respective divisions, and while they are far away from title fights in the UFC, they would be instant title contenders in Strikeforce.

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UFC on FUEL 1 Fight Card: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe first-ever UFC on FUEL fight card features a Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger main event on Feb. 15 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

Sanchez fought once in 2011, beating Martin Kampmann by unanimous decis…

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UFC on FUEL 1 fight card features Diego Sanchez facing Jake Ellenberger.The first-ever UFC on FUEL fight card features a Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger main event on Feb. 15 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

Sanchez fought once in 2011, beating Martin Kampmann by unanimous decision at UFC on Versus 3. Meanwhile, Ellenberger is coming off a first-round TKO over Jake Shields last September at UFC Fight Night 25.

The current lineup is below.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez
Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman
Jonathan Brookins vs. Rani Yahya
Philip De Fries vs. Stipe Miocic
Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes
John Albert vs. Ivan Menjivar

 

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5 UFC Fighters You Should Not Expect to See on FOX This Year

The UFC agreed a landmark deal with Fox on August 18th, 2011. They will get to show four events for free every year. The deal is looking to bring a lot of new fans to the UFC.As a kind of preview for the deal, the UFC put on UFC on Fox 1. The fight’s h…

The UFC agreed a landmark deal with Fox on August 18th, 2011. They will get to show four events for free every year. The deal is looking to bring a lot of new fans to the UFC.

As a kind of preview for the deal, the UFC put on UFC on Fox 1. The fight’s headline was Cain Velasquez facing Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight title. The fight would only last just over a minute.

Just one week later, UFC 139 would take place and the main event—Shogun vs. Henderson—was viewed by many as the best fight ever! Many people asked Dana whether he regretted not putting this fight on Fox.

Dana stated that he was happy as it would have led to complaints, and that they needed to ease fans into UFC. This suggests Dana will keep certain fighters off the Fox channel for while. This slideshow will look at the fighters I don’t expect to see on Fox. 

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Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez Signed to Headline First UFC on FUEL Event

Filed under: UFC, NewsSurging 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 c…

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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.

 

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Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger Slated for Feb. 15 Headliner on Fuel TV

Welterweight contenders Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger will face off on Fuel TV in the first quarter of 2012. MMAjunkie.com confirmed today the news of the fight, which takes place in Omaha, Nebraska.The to-be-announced event is expected to take pl…

Welterweight contenders Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger will face off on Fuel TV in the first quarter of 2012.

MMAjunkie.com confirmed today the news of the fight, which takes place in Omaha, Nebraska.

The to-be-announced event is expected to take place on February 15 from Omaha’s CenturyLink Center.

Sanchez (23-4) returns to the Octagon for the first time since a March decision victory against Martin Kampmann.

With the win, Sanchez earned a second consecutive victory that placed him back in the upper echelon at welterweight.

A fall matchup with Matt Hughes at UFC 136 was scratched due to an unfortunate injury sustained to Sanchez during training.

Ellenberger (26-5) is currently on a five-fight win streak with back-to-back knockout victories over Jake Shields and Sean Pierson in 2011.

The headlining bout takes place in Ellenberger’s hometown, where he’ll certainly be looking to earn another victory and work his way towards a shot at championship gold.

For additional information, follow Joshua Carey on Twitter.



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