TUF 24 Finale’s Jake Ellenberger on Jorge Masvidal: On Saturday, there will be no surprises

LAS VEGAS – UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger had won just one fight over three years when he stepped into the cage against the fearsomely tough Matt Brown at UFC 201.

Another loss would have put him at 1-6 in his past seven outings. The onetime title hopeful probably would have gotten a pink slip. Betting lines didn’t indicate much faith in a turnaround; he was a 2-1 underdog.

“It was definitely one of those career-defining fights,” Ellenberger (31-11 MMA, 10-7 UFC) told MMAjunkie. “When your back is against the wall, we have one thing we’ve got to execute.”

The 31-year-old MMA veteran wound up doing just that, stopping Brown in less than two minutes to reverse the downward trend, save his job, and pick up a $50,000 bonus for “Performance of the Night.”

On Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, he takes on another tough vet he called out after beating Brown – Jorge Masvidal (30-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC). He’s got the same aim – bucking expectations and proving he’s still a top-tier fighter.

“You could sum up my strategy in one word: pressure,” Ellenberger said of his FS1-televised main card bout at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “Everywhere we’re at, pressure, so there will be no surprises on Saturday.”

Masvidal isn’t one to offer up surprises when he competes in the cage, preferring mostly to counter his opponents with striking combinations. Ellenberger has tried that approach, to poor results. Aggressiveness is the strategy that’s worked, and so he’s trying to make it work again.

If Masvidal sits back and waits, Ellenberger said he’ll be in pursuit. And hopefully, the results will be the same.

“I think I can finish him at any point in the fight depending on what he gives me,” Ellenberger said.

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.