TUF Live Finale – Jake Ellenberger vs. Martin Kampmann preview
It’s main event time as MMABay continues to break down this weekend’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale’ fight card and this time, it’s the turn of the big guns. Welterweight contenders, Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann, clash in Las Vegas in a five-round main event designed to produce the new number one contender at 170lbs. Will ‘The Juggernaut’ add Kampmann’s name to his impressive resume, or will the Danish sensation upset another top contender? Find out after the jump…
Jake Ellenberger (27-5, 6-1 UFC)
When you lose your UFC debut to current interim welterweight champion, Carlos Condit by split decision – and many fans call for the heads of the judges – you know you’re a future title contender in the making. That’s what happened to Omaha, Nebraska’s Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger and true to form; the knockout artist is one win away from a shot at the gold.
The Reign MMA welterweight has won six in a row, finishing the likes of Mike Pyle, John Howard and Sean Pierson with his heavy-handed assault. The well-rounded Ellenberger was finally rewarded with a headlining fight at UFN 25 in September against former title contender, Jake Shields.
As Shields predictably shot for an early takedown, Ellenberger levelled him with a knee and finished him with punches just 53-seconds into the first round, prompting some fans to rally for ‘The Juggernaut’ to receive a title shot. Instead, the knockout artist was slotted to face Diego Sanchez in the headlining bout on FUEL TV in February.
A real scrap unfolded in Omaha with home-town boy Ellenberger landing some crushing blows in the first two rounds and using his wrestling in reverse to stay in his comfort zone. However, he gassed badly in round three and Sanchez turned up the heat – taking him down and almost stopping him with ground and pound and choke attempts.
Luckily, ‘The Juggernaut’ had done enough over the first two frames to earn the decision – but there’s an extra two rounds on his horizon this weekend and Ellenberger needs to prove he can perform in a five-rounder.
Martin Kampmann (19-5, 10-4 UFC)
A fixture of the UFC since 2006, former Danish kickboxing champion, Martin ‘Hitman’ Kampmann, has long been one of the more under-appreciated fighters in the promotion and since dropping to 170lbs a few years ago, the Dane has been in the form of his life.
Apart from a first round TKO loss to Paul Daley, Kampmann has looked great at 170lbs, taking some impressive decisions over the likes of Paulo Thiago, Rick Story and Carlos Condit. However, the Xtreme Couture veteran had a right to feel aggrieved when he lost unanimous decisions to both Jake Shields (UFC 121) and Diego Sanchez a few months later.
On both occasions, Kampmann more than held his own – in the Sanchez fight, he left Diego looking like a chainsaw massacre casualty – but was very hard done by. Nonetheless, the well-rounded and gutsy Dane kept the complaints to a minimum and got back to work.
At UFC 139, he peppered wrestler Rick Story with well-timed counter-punches to break his two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory. In March, ‘Hitman’ flew to Sydney, Australia to face former title contender, Thiago Alves, in the main event on FX.
After being soundly picked apart and bruised up by the vicious muay thai stylist, Kampmann shocked the world when he capitalised on a foolish third round takedown and submitted the Brazilian with a guillotine choke. If Kampmann can beat the favourite this weekend, he’ll get the title shot some feel he’s overdue.
The Verdict: This is a really close one to call, and a lot will depend on how well-conditioned Ellenberger is on Friday night. Kampmann is technically, the better striker, but he gets hit easily and although he’s got a good chin, it’s far from unbreakable. Ellenberger barely throws a kick, preferring to throw tight, hard combos with his hands and he’s great at keeping opponents backing up to the fences.
The ground game may not figure at all; Kampmann’s submission wrestling is highly under-valued (this is the guy who, in my opinion, beat Jake Shields at his own game) but his takedowns aren’t brilliant. Coupled with Ellenberger’s stout takedown defence, and this one is more than likely going to be decided standing.
Then, we come to the sticking point – rounds four and five. If Kampmann can make it to this stage, Ellenberger is going to be a shell of man, based on his last three-round war with Sanchez. But can Kampmann, who always ends fights looking worse for wear, make it this far either? Chances are, ‘The Juggernaut’ is going to land something big inside of the distance that crumbles the Dane’s foundations and sends him into a showdown with the UFC welterweight champion. Ellenberger, (T)KO, 3rd round.
By Steve Davies.
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