Jake Ellenberger: Nobody wants to fight Johny Hendricks, but I do
‘The Juggernaut’ Jake Ellenberger has been making a name for himself at welterweight for a while now. In arguably the toughest division on the planet, Ellenberger has fought his way up the ladder facing stearn competition on the way.
Most recently we saw Ellenberger take out Nate Marquardt with a nasty first round knockout, in a bout where ‘The Juggernaut’ was originally slated to face Johny Hendricks. Ellenberger spoke recently to Bleacher Report about his most recent scrap:
“I accomplished exactly what I wanted to do with this fight, it happened a bit quicker than I had anticipated, but I wanted to make a statement and I believe I was successful in doing so.”
After his victory at UFC 158, Ellenberger is arguably the number three welterweight on the planet. ‘The Juggernaut’ continued with his take on the shape of the division:
“It’s hard to say exactly where I stand in the division, but I would suspect I’m right behind Johny,” Ellenberger said. “Some people are saying I’m third or fourth, but what matters to me is fighting the best competition. I will fight whoever I have to in order to get to that title. I was scheduled to fight Josh Koscheck, but he got hurt and I fought Jay Hieron. I was supposed to fight Johny Hendricks, and then he got out of the fight and I ended up against Nate Marquardt.”
“It doesn’t matter what happens, I’m always facing top guys and I have to perform. I still have to beat them and I’ll fight whoever I have to in order to become the No.1 contender.”
Ellenberger then went on to discuss the current number one contender Johny Hendricks and his opinion about a potential fight against ‘Big Rigg’:
“Nobody wants to fight Johny Hendricks, but I do. I’ve been pretty vocal about it, but I can’t control certain things that happen in terms of who I face. But now he’s fighting for the title, and I’m just waiting to see how things play out.”
“He’s had a couple of quick knockouts, but I believe I have what it takes to beat him. I think I have him figured out, and I’ve been saying his name for the past year and trying to get inside the cage with him. I had the fight, but then he found a way out. I want to fight him so bad and I believe I can beat him.”
“I want to wear Johny Hendricks‘s teeth as a necklace.”
Clearly some bad feelings being harboured by Ellenberger towards Hendricks, who do you think would have the best chance in a match-up between these two heavy hitters?
