Dana White on Jake Ellenberger after UFC 173: 'He's got a lot of work to do'

UFC President Dana White is again unhappy with the work of Jake Ellenberger (29-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC).

Following the UFC welterweight’s third-round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler (23-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at this past Saturday’s UFC 173, White sharply criticized his performance.

“It’s not a gameplan,” White said when asked about Ellenberger’s loss, which was his second in a row. “There’s guys who pull the trigger when it’s time to step up, and there’s guys who don’t pull the trigger. This is two times when he was in the spotlight and had big opportunities that he didn’t pull the trigger.”

White was referring to Ellenberger’s previous fight, a snoozer decision loss to Rory MacDonald in which he threw just 106 strikes and landed 19 significant strikes. Afterward, the UFC president said the bout “sucked so bad,” but mostly directed his frustration at MacDonald, who defended his performance.

Privately, though, the UFC executive went off on Ellenberger, who told MMAFighting.com he got “chewed out” by White.

That wasn’t enough to keep the standout fighter from moving forward with the promotion, however. This past April, Ellenberger told MMAjunkie he had signed a new eight-fight UFC deal which he said was “everything we wanted.”

But with a second straight high-profile setback, he could see the promise of that deal evaporate. White is under the impression that Ellenberger doesn’t deliver when stakes are high, and that’s a label that’s hard to shrug off.

White famously called the now-retired lightweight Kenny Florian a “choker” in big fights, which undoubtedly cast a shadow on the three-time title contender’s career.

Ellenberger is headed for the same distinction if he can’t turn it around, though he is trying desperately to do so. In advance of the Lawler fight, he hired a sports psychologist to help him follow through in high-pressure situations.

To be fair, Ellenberger did go after Lawler at several points during the three-round fight, which served on the pay-per-view main card of the event at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. But he was simply outclassed by a tough opponent who’s hellbent on getting a rematch with the man who beat him to claim the welterweight belt, Johny Hendricks.

A stiff knee to the head ended Ellenberger’s night this past Saturday, but he’ll be back to reclaim his place in the welterweight division. Where he ends up, though, is again his burden to bear.

And the boss is watching.

“The one thing for me is, like I say, you can come out and it’s not your day,” White said. “I know there’s guys that come out and they feel like they can’t get off; their timing isn’t there, or whatever it might be.

“But when you’re in a big fight like that, and you’re down two rounds, you come out in that third round and try to win. And [Ellenberger] didn’t do that. He didn’t do it in the McDonald fight, either. So, he’s got a lot of work to do.”

For complete coverage of UFC 173, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.