Juggernaut out to get back on a winning roll

OCTAGON veteran Jake Ellenberger has lost eight of his last 10 fights – but retirement remains the last thing on his mind.

Ellenberger, 33, is preparing for his welterweight clash with fellow American Bryan Barberena at UFC Fight Night 135 in Nebraska.

He goes into the August 25 fight on the back of a first-round KO at the hands of Ben Saunders in June.

But that latest blow has not dampened The Juggernaut’s desire to carry on.

Ellenberger has now tasted defeat in each of his last three bouts, but insists that he has never once contemplated hanging up his gloves. He said: “I know I’m not done fighting and I think we have the right recipe for continuing to fight. I’m certain of that.

“The defeat by Saunders came after the best fight preparation I have ever had in my 12 years of fighting.

Desire

“You can’t point any fingers to what happened. Everything was right, everything was right on the money.

“So I’ll carry on. If I wake up and I don’t want to fight or don’t have that chip on my shoulder or that burning desire, then it’s time to move on. But right now it’s all about the upcoming fight and that is all I am focused on. And that focus, believe me, is all on winning.”

Barberena (13-5-0) is the odds-on favourite to win in his first contest since losing on points to Leon Edwards last September.

But Ellenberger is confident of overcoming Barberena, 29, and said: “I don’t know that I’m the best fighter in the world, but I do know that I can beat anybody in the world. And that’s all I need to know.”

The Ellenberger-Barberena fight is one of the chief support bouts on a Fight Night bill headlined by the lightweight clash between James Vick and Justin Gaethje.