Jake Ellenberger
Option 1: The winner of Nate Diaz v. Marcus Davis (UFC 118, August 28)
It would be easy to say that Ellenberger took a big step forward in his career by virtue of his strong performance against John Howard who had previously been undefeated in the UFC, but Ellenberger has looked great since joining the UFC. Still, even though Ellenberger raised an enormous hematoma under the left eye of Howard, he is not yet a household name. A fight with the winner of Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis’ UFC 118 contest will give Ellenberger the opportunity to announce himself in the UFC’s welterweight division. Diaz’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu would be an interesting contrast to Ellenberger’s wrestling, and both Diaz and Davis would present a tougher challenge on the feet than did Howard.
Option 2: Rick Story
In 2008, Story beat Ellenberger via unanimous decision. The fight was largely uneventful and Story did enough to have clearly won the fight but not enough to come close to putting Ellenberger away. At the end of the fight, Ellenberger showed his frustration, yelling at story and flipping him off. Both Story and Ellenberger have improved greatly in the subsequent two years since their first bout, and both are up and comers in the UFC’s welterweight division. A rematch would have some built in juice for both competitors and should be another good test that should be more exciting than their first fight.