Author: John Heinis

Jake Ellenberger Confident He Can Beat GSP, Says His Game Has Holes

Fresh off a massive TKO win over Jake Shields at the UFC’s 25th annual Fight Night event, Jake Ellenberger had a lot of interesting things to say on Ariel Helwani’s the MMA Hour. MMA Fighting transcribed some of the juiciest details.Ellenberger, o…

Fresh off a massive TKO win over Jake Shields at the UFC’s 25th annual Fight Night event, Jake Ellenberger had a lot of interesting things to say on Ariel Helwani’s the MMA Hour. 

MMA Fighting transcribed some of the juiciest details.

Ellenberger, only the second fighter to stop Shields and the first man to do so in nearly an 11-year span, still hasn’t really had the win sink in yet.

“It’s something I’m still definitely trying to wrap my head around,” Ellenberger said. “It happened quick, and Jake’s definitely one of the best guys I’ve ever fought so it feels great. It’s definitely a big win for me.”

Despite the surprise surround his victory, Ellenberger stated that he knew he could do it all along.

“I know he was looking to take me down and I really wasn’t that worried about it,” Ellenberger stated. “I saw openings and I knew I definitely had the potential to knock him out. But happening the way it did is still kind of surreal.”

Shields came in as a consensus top five welterweight despite a UFC 129 loss to Georges St-Pierre, so Ellenberger has immediately catapulted his name into the title conversation with his most recent victory.

“The Juggernaut” is 26-5 in his professional MMA career, winning five straight in the UFC after debuting with a tightly contested split decision loss to Carlos Condit back in September of 2009.

Ellenberger made it clear that he would like another fight before 2011 comes to a close and that he already has thought about a fight with reigning welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre.

The heavy handed wrestler said he feels good about the way his style matches up with GSP in the cage, and while he is one of the sport’s best, he is not invincible.

“GSP is phenomenal, if not the best fighter in world,” Ellenberger admitted. “He’s someone you have to pressure. You definitely have to pressure him. You can’t stay back on him and let him control the distance and the range. He’s definitely beatable.”

While Ellenberger did not go into detail, he claimed that he has some some weaknesses in GSP’s game, weaknesses he can exploit if the two ever meet in the Octagon.

“Him and Jake Shields had a great fight. He’s proven. I don’t know how many times he defended his title, but anyone can be beat. I’m confident I can beat him. Like I said, anyone can be beat, and to beat a guy like GSP, you’d have to keep pressure and look for some holes.”

“He may not have very many, but they’re there,” Ellenberger said confidently.

St-Pierre has defended his belt six times in a row and has not lost since the he was upset by Matt Serra, all the way back in April of 2007. 

Interestingly, Ellenberger said that Condit has a great chance against GSP due to his “fearlessness and power,” and also later proclaimed that St-Pierre likes to “play it safe a little bit.”

St-Pierre’s next title defense comes against Carlos Condit at UFC 137.  The event takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 29. 

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UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger Bleacher Report MMA Staff Predictions

In the latest installment of UFC’s Fight Night series, fans see a card headlined by a pivotal welterweight showdown between Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger.  Whichever Jake comes out on top in this one is probably just a fight away from a title …

In the latest installment of UFC’s Fight Night series, fans see a card headlined by a pivotal welterweight showdown between Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger.  

Whichever Jake comes out on top in this one is probably just a fight away from a title shot, even despite the fact that Jake Shields lost a title bout to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129.  

After approximately a 16-month layoff due to a serious eye injury, Alan Belcher makes his return to the Octagan to take on fight veteran Jason MacDonald.

In a featherweight showdown, Jonathan Brookins takes on Erik Koch in what should be an entertaining grappling affair.

At 185 pounds, Court McGee takes on South Korean prospect Dongi Yang in what is expected to be a good scrap in the middleweight division.  

Bleacher Report’s own Dwight Wakabayashi, Vince Carey, Jordy McElroy and myself, John Heinis, will be handling the predictions this time around.

Take a look inside to see who’s going to win on the main card on Saturday night.   

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Rampage Jackson: Jon Jones Can Watch Me Brush My Teeth and Wipe My A**

It is no secret that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of the most colorful personalities in MMA today, and he has had plenty to say amidst the buildup for his title fight with Jon Jones at UFC 135.  The latest piece of news regarding t…

It is no secret that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of the most colorful personalities in MMA today, and he has had plenty to say amidst the buildup for his title fight with Jon Jones at UFC 135. 

The latest piece of news regarding this fight came about two weeks ago, when Jackson swore that Jon Jones had a spy in his camp and basically told the story to anyone who would listen. 

After all that, Rampage seems to have changed his stance on “Bones” trying to get the inside scoop on him. 

While speaking to Yahoo! Sports, the former UFC light heavyweight champion essentially told Jones that there is no way he can get inside his head prior to their September 24 showdown in the Octagon.

“I don’t want to talk about the whole ‘spy’ thing too much more. I am glad I found out, I’m glad I told people about it, and I think it’s not an honorable way to prepare for a fight, but if Jon Jones wants me to, I’ll have a camera installed here at the Muscle Pharm in Denver and he can watch me 24-7,” Jackson indicated.

Rampage then had some choice words to drive the point home. 

“He can have a live feed on me. ‘Bones’ can watch me brush my teeth in the morning and see what toothpaste I used, who I am training with and how hard I am working, and he can see which hand I wipe my ass with for all I care,” Jackson replied. 

From there, Jackson also mentioned that he should have no problem knocking out the young prodigy, due to his chin being untested and Rampage still having big power in his hands.

“It don’t matter because there’s no real secret to what I really want to do in this fight: punch him on his big ‘Bones’ head. Knock him out. Jon Jones has never been hit in his career.

“He could have the best chin in the history of the UFC, or he could have the worst in history. We don’t know because he has not got hit yet. But we will know at UFC 135 because he will get hit by me.”

Additionally, Jackson actually gave the youngest UFC champion in history a little credit for his long limbs, speed and takedown ability. 

However, Rampage said none of those aspects of the fight will matter as far as he’s concerned. 

“But I know I am going to have to work at hitting him. He’s got them ‘Go-go-Gadget’ long-ass arms and legs and he’s fast. He’s also going to look to take me down so I have to let my hands go.

“But I’ve been here in Denver, training at the Muscle Pharm Gym at altitude, living in the gym—for real I live here at the gym until after this fight—for seven damn weeks to be ready.”

We are just a little more than week out from UFC 135, where Rampage Jackson looks at another title run when he squares off against the reigning 205-pound champion, Jon “Bones” Jones. 

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Nick Diaz: MMA Quote Machine

For a guy who’s not known for being able to give much of an interview, Nick Diaz sure has not had a loss for words ever since being pulled from the main event of UFC 137.For one thing, Diaz made a YouTube response for no showing the UFC 137 press confe…

For a guy who’s not known for being able to give much of an interview, Nick Diaz sure has not had a loss for words ever since being pulled from the main event of UFC 137.

For one thing, Diaz made a YouTube response for no showing the UFC 137 press conferences, which some are calling an apology: though one’s definition of an apology needs to be pretty loose in this situation.

From there, Diaz simply went off on a tangent calling out Georges St-Pierre hard for allowing the main event of UFC 137 to be changed.  

GSP now takes on Carlos Condit for the UFC welterweight title on October 29, while Nick Diaz will face BJ Penn in a possible title eliminator.  

Let’s take a look at some of the things the elder Diaz brother has had to say recently.  

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Six Reasons Dan Henderson Should Get the Winner of Jones vs. Jackson

Coming off of arguably the biggest win of his career over Fedor Emelianenko, Dan Henderson looks primed for one more run in the UFC.  Hendo, who just turned 41 at the end of August, is open to the move, and actually said he would even be up to fig…

Coming off of arguably the biggest win of his career over Fedor Emelianenko, Dan Henderson looks primed for one more run in the UFC.  

Hendo, who just turned 41 at the end of August, is open to the move, and actually said he would even be up to fight simultaneously in Strikeforce and the UFC.  

However, the 14-year fight veteran has expressed which fight he wants to be involved with next: a title unification bout with the winner of Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  

Bones and Rampage square off at UFC 135, which takes place on September 24, and in an ideal world, Henderson would like to return to the Octagon at UFC 141.  

Here’s five reasons this would be a good business decision for the UFC.   

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UFC: Michael Bisping Calls Out Chael Sonnen

UFC middleweight and one of the most recent head coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping spoke with Ariel Helwani recently on his show The MMA Hour.  As to be expected, Bisping spoke about his thoughts on the current title picture at 185…

UFC middleweight and one of the most recent head coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping spoke with Ariel Helwani recently on his show The MMA Hour. 

As to be expected, Bisping spoke about his thoughts on the current title picture at 185 pounds. 

“The Count” lived up to his reputation of being one of the most outspoken fighters in the game today, and The Fifth Round provided a transcription of some of the highlights. 

When speaking about the most relevant middleweight bout coming up, Chael Sonnen versus Brian Stann at UFC 136 in a title eliminator, Bisping was not very supportive of either Sonnen or Stann being that close to a title shot.

“You can’t believe a word that comes out of Chael Sonnen’s mouth. The guy lives on another planet to you and me,” Bisping said. 

Bisping, who was once sympathetic towards Sonnen’s problems outside of the cage, summed up the fellow middleweights recent struggles in a few words. 

The Count conveniently left out the element of compassion this time around. 

“I think it’s complete bull****.  You got Chael Sonnen, who just fought the champ, cheated, took steroids and got submitted.” 

Harsh words from Bisping, but after Sonnen ripped his British counterpart after being awarded a coaching spot on TUF, it seems safe to say all professional courtesy went out the window.

Despite being on a three-fight win streak since dropping to middleweight, Bisping also could not find a reason to endorse “The All-American” Brian Stann being in the title picture.

“Brian Stann, his biggest win is against a guy I beat three years ago and wiped the floor with,” Bisping proclaimed. 

For those unaware, the common opponent Bisping speaks of is Chris Leben. 

However, it’s worth noting that Bisping won a unanimous decision, while Stann earned a rare knockout win over “The Crippler.”

Bisping is also on a three-fight win streak, but he still believes that he is a bigger threat in the division than Brian Stann.

“Brian Stann, you know, the guy he’s doing well. He’s making some noise. He’s putting together a good win streak, but I’ve been around longer. I’ve beaten more guys and I think I deserve my chance,” Bisping explained. 

At a different portion of the interview, Bisping did admit that despite the bad blood, he still would have preferred to coach TUF opposite Chael Sonnen, since a win over Sonnen could very well grant Bisping a title shot.

A win over Jason “Mayhem” Miller would likely not move Bisping very far up in the division, and the former TUF winner acknowledged that.

“Does a win over Jason Miller earn me a title shot? I don’t think so,” Bisping stated.  “I don’t think Miller necessarily is the big name that’s gonna do it,” adding that consistently winning big fights and beating good guys should have him in the title picture anyway. 

Bisping did not have anything bad to say about reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but he certainly had no problem ripping his most recent opponent, Yushin Okami. 

“Anderson Silva’s proven time and time again that he’s the best in the world, and I’d agree with that. But I think I’d do a much better job than what Yushin Okami did,” Bisping said.

“To be honest, I think my 8-year-old son would do a much better job than what Yushin Okami did.”

Okami was TKO’ed in the second round of his title fight with Silva at UFC 134, looking tentative and showcasing basically no offense before the ref stoppage. 

Mayhem Miller and Bisping will headline the season 14 finale of The Ultimate Fighter on December 3 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, Nevada.

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