Despite inspiring story, UFC's Joe Ellenberger has other factors working against him

There’s no doubt Joe Ellenberger is a fighter, both in and out of the cage. But in addition to a rare blood disease, the UFC newcomer has some other factors working against him this weekend.

Earlier this week, MMAjunkie’s Ben Fowlkes wrote about Ellenberger’s battle with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and his ability to continue his MMA career despite it. Now, Ellenberger (14-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is slated fellow lightweight James Moontasri (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in the FOX Sports 1-televised main-card opener at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 44 event in San Antonio.

However, Joe Ellenberger, the twin brother of UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger, faces some other hurdles in his first UFC fight, including an 18-month layoff from competition and a seemingly never-ending stream of opponent switches.

On a recent edition of MMAjunkie Radio, he discussed all those factors.

“At this point, I just stopped caring,” Ellenberger said when asked about the opponent switches.

Check out the full conversation above to learn why he thinks he can overcome it all.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 44, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.