Eleventh-ranked welterweight Jake Ellenberger picked up a much-needed win at UFC 184 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, submitting Josh Kosheck in the second round.
Both fighters entered the fight on a three-fight losing streak. Koscheck was returning to the cage for the first time in fifteen months after taking a break from fighting to reassess his career.
Koscheck came out aggressive, landing his jab. He quickly changed levels and took Ellenberger down but was unable to control “The Juggernaut.” Ellenberger landed a right hand on the inside that put Koscheck on the defensive in the closing moments of the second round.
Koscheck immediately looked to get the fight to the ground in the second frame. Ellenberger defended the takedown attempt and the referee separated them. Ellenberger landed a counter right hand. Koscheck kept wiping his left eye as if he was having issues seeing. He drove forward for a takedown, but Ellenberger stuffed it and applied a north-south choke that forced Koscheck to tap out.
“He hits hard. He’s always dangerous, so I hand to stay smart, fight intelligent,” said Ellenberger about possibly having Koscheck hurt in the first round. “Josh is a guy that I look up to. My hat’s off to him.”
“I was expecting him to just go out, but he’s a super tough guy,” he added.
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Ellenberger credited his teammate, Mark Munoz, for teaching him the choke that he used to finish The Ultimate Fighter season one alum.
“I’ve got to be honest, that’s a choke Mark Munoz showed me. He’s so good at that,” he said.
Ironically, Munoz was choked unconscious by Roan Carneiro on the preliminary card.
