Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald are set to fight at UFC on FOX 8 on July 27 in Seattle, but that hasn’t stopped the UFC welterweight contenders from thinking about what might be next.
MacDonald is eyeing a rematch with a former opponent, where Ellenberger says he expects a title shot with a win.
Ellenberger (29-6) has won eight of his last nine bouts and is coming off a knockout win over Nate Marquardt at UFC 158. The win over Marquardt was one of the most impressive of his career and he says he is ideally looking to beat MacDonald in a similar fashion.
“I’ve been working extensively on my speed and on my boxing,” Ellenberger told Showdown Joe Ferraro on UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Thursday night. “I was looking for when his hips were square and when (Marquardt) was flatfooted. One thing we’ve been working on is combinations and not over committing.
“Rory’s got an extremely tough fight coming up in July. I’m excited. … I know what I’m capable of and I’m excited to show the world I’m capable of beating anybody at 170.”
Ellenberger is 28 and feels like his experience could be an advantage in the bout.
“He’s young and he’s hungry. I’ve been in his shoes before,” Ellenberger said. “I don’t see any one thing that really sticks out that I’m worried about to be honest. And that’s not a statement of arrogance, that’s a statement of confidence.”
The two-time Knockout of the Night winner believes a win over the young Canadian will “absolutely” earn him a title shot against the winner of Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks, which is expected to take place later this year.
“Whoever wins will fight for the title next,” Ellenberger added.
On the other hand, MacDonald (14-1) isn’t thinking about a title shot, since the 23-year-old has said on multiple occasions that he will never fight the current UFC champ and his Trystar Gym teammate in GSP.
“I’d love to fight Carlos (Condit) again and I know Carlos would take that fight too so we’ll see how it all plays out,” MacDonald told Ferraro. “Me and Carlos, we’ll definitely fight this year, hopefully if our schedules match up.”
Condit handed MacDonald his first and only career loss back at UFC 115 in Vancouver in June 2010.
Like Ellenberger, MacDonald respects his upcoming opponent, but is not intimidated by the task at hand, despite witnessing an impressive showing from Ellenberger at UFC 158.
“He showed just how dangerous he is and showed his composure is coming a long way,” MacDonald observed. “He’s got deadly finishing power … so I’ll definitely be watching out for that.
“I’d like to show that I can beat someone up in every aspect, but the fight will go the way it goes and like I said, I’ll be ready for every area of where the fight will take place.”
MacDonald learns lesson from injury
MacDonald was scheduled to fight Condit at UFC 158 in Montreal in March, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a neck injury he suffered in February. MacDonald said his neck is doing “pretty good” and he’s “making progress all the time.”
Doctors have examined his neck and he has been cleared to fight, which allowed him to accept the matchup with Ellenberger.
The former King of the Cage champion said the biggest lesson he learned from the injury he suffered while preparing for UFC 158 was one of patience.
“There was a few things but a big one was just to stay calm and continue with my regular training. I think I jumped the gun. I was a little stressed and I think I was training a little too intense at the beginning of training camp.
“The caveman inside of me came out so I need to just pull back the reins a little bit again and just settle down and just put less emotion into it so it was a good lesson I guess.”
MacDonald will aim to pace himself in training so as not to suffer any unnecessary injuries.
“I’ll be in great shape for the fight, it’s not about that. It’s about just keeping my body healthy. I need to correct some posture issues, so it’s just small stuff I need to fix.
“I’m trying to be as smart as I can so I can have a long career, so I think I need to keep my therapy going all year round rather than taking breaks.
“After my last fight I took a bit of a break and I probably shouldn’t have and when I jumped back into it, I was going intense right away, boom, boom, boom, and my body it got damaged.
“I have to be focused all year round. I feel like I’m going to have a long career. I don’t feel like it will be cut short due to injuries.”