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Realistically, how many fights will it take for Jake Ellenberger to earn a title shot after his win over Jake Shields? Who should be his next opponent?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Title shot? Whoa camel, whoa, whoa! Whoa Camel, WHOA! Ah c'mon WHOA! When I say whoa, I mean WHOA!!!
Let's slow down here. Before we go and anoint Jake Ellenberger, let's count the number of wins he has against top 10 opponents. There was that win against Jake Shields last weekend... Good night everybody.
I like Ellenberger, of course. But he's got to win at least two more fights against top 10 guys before he should sniff a shot against GSP. This is the UFC Welterweight Division (unnecessary caps). This isn't Middleweight, this isn't Strikeforce. You don't win one big fight and get in range. There are way too many good guys ahead of Ellenberger for us to be thinking title shot anytime in the next year, at least.
That said, I think he can win two to four more consecutive fights against top 10 opponents. But he hasn't done it yet, and his resume shrinks in comparison to several of the fighters in this division.
As for who he should fight next, Josh Koscheck is the logical choice. As long as Koscheck stays at 170, he's a high end gatekeeper, nothing more. So since he's keeping the gate, let's see if Ellenberger can break through. The only other guy I would consider would be Diego Sanchez, but that would be a step down from Shields, frankly.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I think Ellenberger needs to win at least two more fights. He's going to need a few more wins to make himself stand out from the pack. As for his next opponent, I'd go with Diego Sanchez. If he wins that fight, then you put him in there with a Jon Fitch-Josh Koscheck or someone else at that level. The only reason I wouldn't give him a title shot after just one win is that the Nick Diaz vs. B.J. Penn winner is likely to get the title shot after Carlos Condit. That's too long to wait so he might as well fight a few times.
An alternative is to have Ellenberger fight the Diaz vs. Penn winner, with the winner of that getting the next title shot.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
With Jake Ellengerger getting a surprising win over Jake Shields, it's easy to see that at the most it should only take about one more fight. Possibly against someone like the winner of the upcoming Hughes-Koscheck bout. Both are former opponents of Georges St-Pierre, and another big name that would be a nice notch for Ellenberger to put on his resume on his way to a title fight.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
One more win over a top level opponent and he will get his shot. Dana White rewards exciting fighters. He is the total package and finishes fights. Jon Fitch should be his next opponent. It makes sense and if Ellenberger wins, no one can say he is not worthy of the title shot.
CHRIS PARK, MMATORCH UK SPECIALIST
I think depending on which opponent he faces next; it may just take one more.
The big win over Jake Shields gives him a genuine shout at the next shot but if he can follow that up with a win over say a John Fitch, Thiago Alves, or another of the higher profile welterweights, then that would all but guarantee him a crack at the title. @MMATorchUK
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
It can't be any more than one, and that's only because you don't want a young fighter like Ellenberger to be inactive waiting for GSP to be ready to fight again. St. Pierre fights at UFC 137 at the end of October so he probably wouldn't be ready to fight again until spring of 2012.
Ellenberger can and should squeeze one more fight in the meantime to stay sharp. It doesn't really matter against who as long as its a credible welterweight contender. Assuming Josh Koscheck gets past Matt Hughes at UFC 135, he would be a very appropriate next opponent.
JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
He's going to need more than likely two fights to get a title shot in the division, though that depends on a couple of things. If B.J. Penn beats Nick Diaz at UFC 137 and the UFC doesn't give him the next shot, Ellenberger could take that spot with a win over either Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck. If Diaz wins, the UFC is almost assuredly putting him in the next title fight, so Ellenberger will need that win over Fitch or Koscheck, along with one more win, and then he'd likely be next in line.
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