Martin Kampmann Injured, Jake Ellenberger Fights Ben Saunders at UFC 111 in March
A cut has forced welterweight contender Martin Kampmann to withdraw from his showdown with Ben Saunders scheduled for UFC 111 on March 27 in Newark, New Jersey, but Jake Ellenberger has agreed to step in and fight Saunders at the pay-per-view event, according to MMAjunkie.
Kampmann was spotted by 5th Round over the weekend sporting a stitched cut over his right eye, and though he won’t be able to fight Saunders in March, the injury is not expected to sideline him for long and he could return as early as May.
Ellenberger (22-5), an IFL veteran, had his four-fight win streak snapped in a September loss to Carlos Condit in his UFC debut, but the Team Quest fighter rebounded with a second-round TKO of veteran Mike Pyle at UFC 108 last month.
Saunders (8-1-2), a castmember on The Ultimate Fighter 6, began his UFC career with three-straight wins before losing his first career bout to Mike Swick last June. He bounced back in November with a first-round knockout of Marcus Davis.
For complete UFC 111 coverage, including UFC 111 news and UFC 111 results, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Pictured: Jake Ellenberger
Loading ...
Normally I would say Kampmann pulling out is a bad thing, and I’m sure it is for him, his camp, and his supporters, but for the rest of us dropping in Ellenberger is a great patch…
idk i was excited to see martin kampmann vs killa b live ellenberger not a bad replacement still a lil disapointed tho
We (5thRound.com) were able to confirm Kampmann’s injury… It was a cut, you can read the story at http://www.5thround.com/22531/cut-forces-martin-kampmann-off-ufc-111-st-pierre-vs-hardy-card/
Wow. This is a solid replacement.
As much as I was looking forward to the Kampman/Sounders fight I just havnt been overly impressed with the “Hitman” lately. And I foresaw him having a tough fight with Ben.
Now someone who I have been impressed with is Ellenberger. The guy looked solid against Condit on 2 weeks notice and gave Pyle one of the biggest beatings he’s ever had. This kid has got great wrestling solid GnP and heavy hands. All the tools needed to beat someone like Saunders.
There is no doubt that “Killa B” poses some serious threats in this fight and anyone who needs a reminder should just watch his fight with Davis. From what I heard Marcus went into that fight off a great camp and highly motivated after the split dec loss to Hardy. Yet still got picked apart and then obliterated by the clinch of Saunders.
With all that said though I persoanlly think Jake is a bad match up for him. Ben will undoubtedly look to keep this fight on the feet where I have him with a slight advantage but his less that bullet proof chin and Ellenberger’s destructive right hand will be a great neutralizer. If this fight doesnt go well for Jake on the feet which is definately a possibibilty I see him having no trouble at all in putting Saunders on his back. Now it is noted that Ben has a solid armbar victory inside the octagon aswell as a huge amount of confidence in his ground game but I just dont think it will be enough to fend of the top game of Ellenberger. Better BJJ guys in Condit and Pyle both took a serious beating while underneath him and I dont see sounders as being an exception.
I have this fight for Jake in the likely form of an impressive UD. Saunders poses to many threats on the feet for Jake to get to comfortable standing. Ellenberger does posess the KO power to put Ben asleep but this fight is a big one for him and a W will be first and foremost. Expect some good exchanges on the feet usually at the start of each round leading to four minutes worth of solid GnP from Jake.
Well I was really looking foreward to Kampmann vs Sauders for the standup war it should be. As carls said above, Ellenberger’s more than a handful on the ground, and I just hope Killa B can get the quick clinch.
Nothing against Saunders, I think the guy has promise, but I have been really impressed with what I’ve seen from Ellenberger and want to see him continue to do well.
I would have been much happier seeing Saunders put a beating on Kampmann than I will now seeing Saunders and Ellenberger go at it. The good thing is, maybe now we can finally see Kampmann vs. Swick, which I still think is a good, relevant matchup.
Yeah this is actually not a replacement Saunders wanted to see. Ellenberger has heavy hands on his feet and also can take you down and tee off with the best of them. Should be an interesting match-up.
don’t forget with the change in opponent this throws the gameplan right out the window. IMO Joe Silva should replace fighters with like-styled fighters. Yeah it’s over a month away still, but the drastic style change will change every aspect of training.
I get what you’re saying, eldiablo, and agree that it would be nice for fighters if, when possible, he did that. The biggest issue I have is that finding a similarly ranked fighter with a similar style is going to be difficult. The only welter with similar style to Kampmann I can think of is Swick, and he’s suspended.
And Swick Made Saunders look almost amature, so i dont think Swick would have been a good replacement even if he was available.
Exactly.
True dat. Personally I would have rather seen Condit (if his hand’s better). Or shuffle some cards around and get Lytle or even good ‘ol Canadian boy TJ Grant.
Condit is still out, he’s looking to return against Rory MacDonald at UFC 115, when he cut his hand he got super staph and had to go on 6 weeks of continuous IV antibiotics.
seeing lytle fight live again would b awesome! his fight wit thiago alves was my favorite from 78 and a chance to see them both fight in jersey again would b amazing. and saunders vs lytle would b fireworks. i dont recall wat cut lytle to end the fight wit alves but im thinkin it was a knee so i could see lytle getting stopped by the doctors again if he fights saunders