Jake Ellenberger
Age: 33
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 31-13
UFC Record: 10-9
Notable Wins: Jake Shields, Matt Brown, Nate Marquardt
Notable Losses: Mike Perry, Jorge Masvidal, Stephen Thompson, Robbie Lawler
Last Fight: KO loss to Mike Perry
Fighter Profile: Once an elite welterweight in the UFC, it’s been a steep fall from the top for Ellenberger. Once a ferocious knockout artist in the UFC, these days it’s Ellenberger who is the one getting knocked out as he’s lost his last two fights via T/KO, including a brutal elbow KO to Mike Perry his last time out. He has five knockout losses in the UFC alone and is just 2-7 in his last nine fights in the UFC. Ellenberger can still show his knockout power from time-to-time as we saw with his TKO win over Matt Brown, but overall he’s a guy who has declined badly and it’s hard to trust him to beat anyone on the roster at this point.
Ben Saunders
Age: 35
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 21-9-2
UFC Record: 8-6
Notable Wins: Court McGee, Kenny Robertson
Notable Losses: Alan Jouban, Jon Fitch, Patrick Cote, Douglas Lima
Last Fight: KO loss to Alan Jouban
Fighter Profile: One of the most exciting and fan-friendly fighters on the UFC roster, Saunders is a very dagnerous offensive fighter due to his ridiculous muay Thai and submission skills, but he’s a guy who has been in way too many wars at this point and it shows. He’s been brutally knocked out in his last two fights, including a particularly devastating KO win to Alan Jouban in his last fight. Saunders has shown flashes of brilliance in the past with his KO and submission ability but his lack of durability has cost him as he’s stepped up in competition time and time again. He’s turned into a solid gatekeeper at 170lbs, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll take that next step and become a contender at this point of his career.
Fight Breakdown: This should be a good fight for as long as it lasts, which likely won’t be more than five minutes. Both Saunders and Ellenberger have tons of knockout potential but both guys also have chins that have been compromised and either could be finished with a big blow. For this fight, I think Saunders is going to catch Ellenberger and get him out of there. I just feel like Saunders has more tools on the feet with his kicks and knees and elbows while Ellenberger just has his punches. I also believe if this fight hits the ground that Saunders has the edge due to his ridiculous BJJ game. But I don’t even think the ground game comes into play here as this fight will most likely stay on the feet and I’ll go with Saunders to get the KO win.
Prediction: Ben Saunders via KO
