While fast-rising welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger (25-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) needed just 53 seconds to dispatch of recent UFC title challenger Jake Shields (26-6-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC), it was hardly the easiest victory of his career.
In fact, Ellenberger said, it was quite difficult to put aside his compassion for Shields, whose father passed away just three weeks prior to Saturday's UFC Fight Night 25 meeting.
But Ellenberger did exactly that, netting his fifth-consecutive UFC win. Now the 26-year-old has his sights set on the top of the division and is confident he could provide a stern test for the winner of an upcoming UFC 137 title fight between current champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Carlos Condit.
"I think I match-up well with Carlos and GSP," Ellenberger said following Saturday's event, which took place at New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. "I've gotten a lot better since [Condit and I] fought."
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