Report: UFC Targeting Shields-Ellenberger Matchup for Fall Card

Jake Shields will reportedly return later this year. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

According to a Sunday report from MMAFighting.com, Shields and Ellenberger have agreed to meet inside the Octagon later this year. The bout, which has not yet been confirmed by the promotion, could land on the fight card for UFC 138 on Nov. 19 in San Jose, Calif., according to the report.

Shields, 32, had a five-year, 15-fight unbeaten streak snapped in April, when he suffered a five-round unanimous decision loss to welterweight ruler Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129. The Cesar Gracie pupil joined the Zuffa ranks last fall after a three-fight stint in Strikeforce, during which he captured the company’s vacant middleweight strap while defeating Jason Miller, Dan Henderson and Robbie Lawler.

Since debuting in the UFC with a narrow September 2009 decision loss to Carlos Condit, Ellenberger has won four straight, including three stoppages. The 26-year-old Nebraskan was last seen knocking out Sean Pierson on the April undercard of Shields’ title loss. After the fight, Ellenberger did not mince words when it came to fighting Shields.

“If they do make that match, and me and Jake get to fight, he’s not a hard guy to figure out,” Ellenberger said in an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I feel like I can beat him right now.”