Back at Kings MMA, Jake Ellenberger cuts out 'nonsense' of past camps

Jake Ellenberger

Jake Ellenberger is hopeful that the third time will be the charm for his scheduled dance with former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine.

Ellenberger (30-10 MMA, 9-6 UFC) and Saffiedine (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) have been booked to fight twice before. Each time, one of them has had to pull out of the contest with an injury. Now the UFC is giving them one more try at UFC on FOX 18, which takes place Jan. 30 in Newark, N.J.

Ellenberger thinks both he and Saffiedine likely have made improvements to their games since the last time they were supposed to fight at UFC 172 in April 2014.

He’s also not stressing out about the chance of the fight being scrapped for a third time.

“I’ve had to simplify a lot of things,” Ellenberger told MMAjunkie. “One of the problems I’ve run into in the past is having too many people in my ear – too much advice. It creates distractions. So I’ve really been able to cut a lot of nonsense out of my training. The fewer people I work with, the better. It’s been more organized and more structured for me.

“I’m sure he’s grown, too. But we were scheduled twice, and this is the third time, so I’m sure it will happen. I’m sure we’ve both evolved.”

After a stint training with Ronda Rousey’s crew at Glendale Fighting Club, Ellenberger is back at Kings MMA in California. With four losses in his past five fights, he was looking to get to the root of what may have been ailing him once he got in the cage.

Now it’s more about shoring up things beyond just what happens when he hits mitts or rolls.

“This is such a unique sport,” Ellenberger said. “I’ve been really able to expose some weaknesses I’ve had in the past. When you’re training for a fight, you really neglect things like muscle imbalances. For me, it’s been great to really strengthen some areas I’ve really ignored the last few years.”

Working with Kings MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro again after Ellenberger’s temporary absence from the gym has been a boon, he said. And no, there wasn’t any awkwardness when he went back to the team.

“I’ve been working with Rafael Cordeiro and it’s been great,” he said. “I’ve always had a great relationship with Rafael Cordeiro – an amazing coach. We sat down and had a few conversations. There was never any animosity or falling out, I would say when I chose to work with other people. But he’s got a big heart and he loves to help people.”

Now Ellenberger will just be hoping Cordeiro can help him back into the win column.

And for more on UFC on FOX 18, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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