For Jake Ellenberger, the best part about his victory last night has to be his arrival in the UFC’s welterweight division. With a quick, convincing victory over Jake Shields, Ellenberger has set himself up for better opponents, more attention from the fans and the media and the better paydays that accompany those things. The second best part? The 55k Knockout of the Night bonus he picked up in the process, of course.
Submission of the Night honors went to T.J. Waldburger for his first round triangle choke against Mike Stumpf. Initially, Waldburger appeared to have Stumpf caught in an armbar. When Stumpf managed to escape, Waldburger pulled off a textbook transition to a triangle choke. The win gives T.J. Waldburger his 11th victory by submission.
For Jake Ellenberger, the best part about his victory last night has to be his arrival in the UFC’s welterweight division. With a quick, convincing victory over Jake Shields, Ellenberger has set himself up for better opponents, more attention from the fans and the media and the better paydays that accompany those things. The second best part? The 55k Knockout of the Night bonus he picked up in the process, of course.
Submission of the Night honors went to T.J. Waldburger for his first round triangle choke against Mike Stumpf. Initially, Waldburger appeared to have Stumpf caught in an armbar. When Stumpf managed to escape, Waldburger pulled off a textbook transition to a triangle choke. The win gives T.J. Waldburger his 11th victory by submission.
As for the Fight of the Night bonuses, they went to Lance Benoist and Matt Riddle for their highly energetic scrap on the Facebook prelims. Both fighters fed off of the crowd’s energy, with Lance Benoist getting the better of Matt Riddle for the first two rounds. However, at the end of the second round, a cut opened up on the nose of Benoist that bothered him for the rest of the fight. Riddle nearly managed to finish Benoist during the third round, but Benoist held on long enough to pick up the unanimous decision victory.
Despite an extremely impressive run outside of the UFC, Jake Shields has been a disappointment upon entering the organization. Shields compiled 14 straight wins, becoming the EliteXC welterweight champion, as well as the Strikeforce middlewei…
Despite an extremely impressive run outside of the UFC, Jake Shields has been a disappointment upon entering the organization. Shields compiled 14 straight wins, becoming the EliteXC welterweight champion, as well as the Strikeforce middleweight champion in the process.
His run includes wins over the likes of Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller and Dan Henderson.
Needless to say, there were extremely high expectation for Shields when he finally signed with the UFC and fought Martin Kampmann at UFC 121. Although he got the win via split decision, most were disappointed with his performance and some even felt he deserved the loss.
Still, Shields got his long awaited shot at long-time No. 1 welterweight Georges St-Pierre. Again, Shields didn’t put on the most entertaining performance. GSP dominated the fight, despite getting poked in the eye.
Even with the loss, Shields was still ranked in the top three. The performance against Martin Kampmann was explained by a poor weight cut and, well, who doesn’t lose to Georges St-Pierre?
Jake Shields was going into his bout with Jake Ellenberger as solid favorite and despite the passing of his father, most felt he was going to pick up the win and move towards another shot at the title. After all, the Cesar Gracie fighter has never lost two in a row.
Jake Ellenberger, however, proved to be a recipe for failure for Shields. Ellenberger showed his wrestling ability, able to easily shrug off his opponent’s take-down attempts. On his first shot, Shields was tossed aside like a rag doll. On his second, Ellenberger easily got his under-hooks and remained on the feet.
Without being able to get to the ground, Shields was now going to have to deal with the immense power of Ellenberger. Despite being relatively unknown to the casual fan, “The Juggernaut” has knocked out four of his last five opponents. His only loss in the UFC came via split decision to perennial contender Carlos Condit in a bout that Ellenberger nearly finished.
Fifty-three seconds into the first round and the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Shields claimed he “still had some fight left,” but his head was being beaten into the canvas with vicious shots that necessitated the merciful stoppage.
Just like that, Shields joins a long list of fighters that “couldn’t make it in the UFC.” Guys like Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva.
Jake Shields doesn’t deserve to have his talent questioned because of a couple of losses, but it does prove that the top talent is in the UFC. Highly-touted fighters that are now entering the UFC from Strikeforce, like Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz, may very well suffer the same fate.
People easily forget that Diaz lost three straight in the UFC earlier in his career. Alistair Overeem was finished in five out of seven fights just before his most recent run. Fans get mesmerized by long win streaks and spectacular knockout finishes, but they ignore the level of competition.
Sure, B.J. Penn is only 16-7-2 overall, but there’s a reason why he’s the favorite going into his bout with Nick Diaz. Mixed martial arts fans need to place less value in wins and losses and more value in good performances against good competition.
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
I’m really not sure what to call Court McGee’s performance last night. But I will say that the TUF 11 winner handled his eleven months away from the sport as well as possible. He stuck to his game plan against a game Dongi Yang, and managed to grind out a decision victory. McGee may not be ready for the deep end of the middleweight division yet, but he’s certainly appearing promising so far. Ed Herman is being suggested as a future opponent, and I can’t say I disagree with that. As for the other TUF winner on the card, Jonathan Brookins didn’t win, but he managed to not get knocked out against Erik Koch. Admit it: that was far more than you were expecting from him. Brookins did what he had to do to remain conscious against Koch by implementing a wall-and-stall “offense”, and secured a few takedowns in the process. An ugly way to lose, but when you’re a TUF winner, you can get away with it. Likewise, the ugly victory more than likely stalls Koch for the time being, despite the improved wrestling that he displayed by managing to avoid most of Brookins’ takedowns.
One final thing to take away from last night was Alan Belcher’s effortless return to action. Despite a sixteen month layoff that nearly ended his career, Belcher made quick work of Jason MacDonald, punching him out in the first round. Given the almost embarrassing lack of depth in the middleweight division, Belcher may find himself back in the mix with that victory. Not bad for a guy who was considering retirement before last night’s fight. As for Jason MacDonald, well, there’s always Strikeforce (for the next few months, at least).
Jake Ellenberger def. Jake Shields via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:53
Court McGee def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-28)
Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Alan Belcher def. Jason MacDonald via verbal submission (punches) – Round 1, 3:48
PRELIMINARY CARD
Vagner Rocha def. Cody McKenzie via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49
Evan Dunham def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lance Benoist def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ken Stone def. Donny Walker via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:40
Seth Baczynski def. Clay Harvison via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:12
T.J. Waldburger def. Mike Stumpf via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
Robert Peralta def. Mike Lullo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Filed under: UFC, NewsNEW ORLEANS – Jake Ellenberger’s quick and dominant win over Jake Shields on Saturday will forever be linked to a story that transcends the world of fighting and sports.
When Shields’ father and manager, Jack Shields, died sudde…
NEW ORLEANS – Jake Ellenberger‘s quick and dominant win over Jake Shields on Saturday will forever be linked to a story that transcends the world of fighting and sports.
When Shields’ father and manager, Jack Shields, died suddenly last month, there were quickly questions of whether he would be able to recover emotionally for the main event with Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 25 – or if he even might pull out of the fight altogether. Shields was that close with his dad.
Ellenberger said leading up to the fight he could not help but understand Shields’ grief, and respected his decision to go through with the fight. After Ellenberger’s 53-second TKO win, he said he didn’t exchange any words with Shields, post-fight, about the loss of his father.
“I don’t feel it’s my place to be (offering condolences after the fight),” Ellenberger told MMA Fighting. “I know he’s going through a really tough time, but I don’t think it’s my place to talk about it. I feel for him – I really do. Like I said when I heard about this, family is the most important thing in the world outside of fighting, outside of anything.”
Shields had not been stopped in a fight since 2000, his third pro fight, and only in April, in a decision loss to Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title, had his more than six-year-long winning streak snapped. He has now lost two straight for the first time in his career, which included the Strikeforce middleweight title before he vacated it last year to sign with the UFC.
Ellenberger’s win gave him five straight in the welterweight division, and the ease with which he dispatched Shields likely thrust his name right into title contention with another win. St-Pierre defends next against Carlos Condit in October. Nick Diaz fights BJ Penn on the same night with the winner likely to be next in line after Condit. But Ellenberger’s quick win, taking virtually no damage, may mean he’s back to work quickly, hoping to build on his streak and cement himself as next in line for a shot sometime in 2012.
Saturday, though, he said anyone who wants to downgrade his win by saying Shields might not have been ready for the fight in the wake of his father’s death should reconsider.
“It doesn’t matter, to be honest,” Ellenberger said. “He took the fight. He stayed in there, which I respect about him. He showed he’s a professional and a warrior. He had the opportunity to pull out. I’m not taking anything away from him. A fight is a fight.”
Before Jack Shields passed, there was just a hint of bad blood starting to rise between the two Jakes when Shields said he hadn’t really heard of Ellenberger. But after Saturday night, that likely all got swept under the carpet.
But Ellenberger said he knew he had to put his sympathy for Shields aside when the cage door closed.
“That’s the hard part,” Ellenberger said. “I know he’s going through such a tough time. No matter what you do and say, it’s really hard to push that aside and compete. But I do feel for him. Outside of fighting, I feel for him. I respect him. But when you get in there, it’s our job to fight, and that’s what we do.”
Finally, the UFC welterweight title picture looks just a wee bit more interesting these days.As if the move of former Strikeforce 170-pound champion Nick Diaz and the rise of Carlos Condit weren’t enough to breathe a bit of life into champ …
Finally, the UFC welterweight title picture looks just a wee bit more interesting these days.
As if the move of former Strikeforce 170-pound champion Nick Diaz and the rise of Carlos Condit weren’t enough to breathe a bit of life into champ Georges St-Pierre’s steady dismantling of the welterweight hierarchy, a new contender was born on Saturday.
Also, a pair of “The Ultimate Fighter” champions graced the cage in bouts that admittedly left a bit to be desired, but told us a little bit more on where each fighter stacks up in their respective divisions.
That, coupled with Alan Belcher’s stellar return to action, made for an up-and-down night of fighting that was already going to be overshadowed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Victor Ortiz—and trust me, form most certainly held on that one.
Nevertheless, what can we take away from UFC Fight Night 25: Battle of the Bayou?
Jake Ellenberger Has Arrived
First off, I commend Jake Shields for even taking this fight despite the loss of his father a few weeks back and what effects that unfortunate circumstance had on his preparations or mindset entering last night are something only he can divulge.
I don’t think it’s fair to use that as a means of downplaying what was the breakout performance of surging welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger’s career.
That was some violence he threw down on Shields, plain and simple.
Shields fought as he should, working for the takedown and trying to lure the action into his comfort zone. The Nebraskan subsequently shrugged him off.
And Shields stuck with that mindset, trying to get inside and just two minutes in, took the brunt of a brutal clinch exchange with Ellenberger, eating a knee and crumpling to the mat.
We all know Ellenberger has power—just watch his knockouts of “Pele” Landi-Jons and Sean Pierson for proof. Meshing that with his upper-body strength and ability to keep the action upright can be a lot to handle for anybody at 170 pounds. It was just nice to see it finally put into practice against an elite-level opponent in Shields.
Inevitably, the parallels to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s performance against Shields are going to come up. If someone wants to argue that St-Pierre is fighting a more protective, harm-free style these days, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest so.
I expected St-Pierre to wallop Shields and seeing Ellenberger do so is just another feather in his cap moving forward, as he now positions himself to be likely one win away from a title shot.
The ramifications for next month’s Nick Diaz-B.J. Penn bout just got much bigger and the outcome could very well dictate just what happens next with Ellenberger. If Penn wins, are fans really clamoring for GSP-Penn III or would they prefer St-Pierre defending against the guy who just wrecked a fighter the champ couldn’t finish?
Either way, it’s a good time to be Jake Ellenberger.
That was my stance entering this fight and after that prosaic display of fighting, that remains the case.
I don’t think Court McGee is a great fighter by any means or even a pretty good one. He’s decent in areas but not enough to be considered a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none kind that someone like Rich Franklin might be branded as.
McGee’s the homeless man’s version of former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin; a fighter who aside from his TUF lineage, would never be mistaken amongst his division’s most talented of fighters but made the most out of what limited skills he had and got by on heart, toughness and just out-working his opponents.
Yup, lunch-pail terms out the wazoo.
That’s essentially what McGee did against Dongi Yang in the evening’s co-main event.
Was it pretty? Nope, in fact, it was boring until Yang stuck McGee with a left hook in the third round and as Joe Rogan succinctly put it, a fight broke out.
McGee used superior technique and conditioning to outlast Yang, a fighter whose cardio has never been much to write home about.
McGee stayed on the attack, overcame being dropped for the second time in as many fights and now rolls to 3-0 in the UFC.
He’s a sympathetic figure for his life story and it’s damn hard not to root for the guy given his rise from obscurity during TUF.
In the end, all this performance did was instill one bland shade of apathy.
Praise Jeebus, the Refs Got It Right!
I can’t be the only one who was having flashbacks to Randy Couture-Brandon Vera at UFC 105 with Jonathan Brookins’s strategy on Saturday.
The first of the two TUF champions to grace the cage, Brookins was fixated to the fence in his bout with Erik Koch as if somebody planted a magnet in his body.
It certainly adhered to the scoring tenet of cage control with the converted lightweight doing his best to impose his size advantage, but what exactly did Brookins do during his time clinching alongside the cage with Koch that improved his chances of winning the bout? What effective offense amounted from his strategy?
None, or at least, very little.
Mix in a nice clinch elbow and a knee or two along the way, but it was just one failed takedown after another for Brookins. At distance, Koch made good on his advantage in the standup with heavy one-two combos and leg kicks, while Brookins still hasn’t learned how to sway and defended strikes with the oh-so subtle whipping back of his head.
It was the kind of fight that someone at home might score in Koch’s favor 30-27 or 29-28, only to hear Bruce Baffer rattle off a trio of 29-28 cards for Brookins.
Fortunately, we were spared that routine, as all three judges were correct in awarding Koch the bout for being the more efficient offensive fighter. Side note, it’s still not a good thing when you’re relieved that the judges properly scored a fight.
I have nothing against the concept of Brookins’s strategy, so long as a fighter does something with it. Brookins’s Plan A failed him, without a Plan B, he seemed content to just ride out the action against the fence and it cost him in the end.
As far as what his path looks like down the road?
This is essentially the same fighter we saw against Michael Johnson. Brookins’s standup doesn’t appear to have really evolved offensively or defensively and although he can still rip off a mean lateral drop, if he can’t get the takedown, he’s going to be in trouble.
Well At Least Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson Won’t Be Debating Each Other
The UFC gave fans something other than the customary mid-show, paint-by-numbers, generic sit-down interview to hype the upcoming Jon Jones-Quinton Jackson light heavyweight title fight.
What’s generally a fast-forward-worthy occasion with me missing many a cliché about each fighter being in the best shape of their careers and the like, Joe Rogan played mediator between champion and challenger.
It’s a smart move on the UFC’s part because it’s much easier to build hype when there’s a perceived animosity between the two fighters and this accomplished that.
But let’s be honest, this was anything an eloquent exchange between Jones and Jackson, with plenty of stammering and nervous speak from both sides, which I guess adds to the authenticity of the matter in the end.
Rogan addressed the allegations of Jones having a spy in “Rampage’s” camp, asked them each how the fight was going to go down and in the end, this was probably a more effective promotional tool than just doing the usual 1-on-1 interview with each fighter.
Just be fortunate it’s a fight that will settle the grudge between Jones and Jackson and nothing more.
Keep an Eye on Lance Benoist
Four fighters made their UFC debuts on Saturday night’s card.
Although watching 22-year-old Lance Benoist wake up the New Orleans crowd alongside Matt Riddle, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that Benoist was the late replacement in the fight.
Benoist staved off a third-round rally by Riddle to procure a unanimous decision on the night’s preliminary card, taking the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
Now 6-0 overall, Benoist overwhelmed the more seasoned Riddle early on in a first round highlighted by a slick kimura hip sweep after being taken down early on. On the feet, Riddle’s never been the most evasive of fighters and that much was apparent with Benoist opening the fight with a hard cross as the precursor to an aggressive offensive attack that bested Riddle more times than not.
Riddle has his chances though, chiefly after landing a flush knee that began emptying blood from Benoist’s nose like a faucet.
The newcomer kept his wits about him though, working a positionally dominant second round prior and staying out of enough trouble off his back in the third round to seal the decision.
Riddle’s no world-beater, and his nine-fight career is one of inconsistency, but color me impressed by that kind of resolve for a fighter with just five pro fights under his belt making his UFC debut.
Despite an extremely impressive run outside of the UFC, 
NEW ORLEANS –