Jake Ellenberger snaps losing streak, submits Josh Koscheck
It didn't take long for former NCAA Division I wrestling national champion Josh Koshceck to revert to his bread and butter Saturday night at UFC 184 in Los Angeles. After finding initial success with a takedown, however, Koscheck lost ground to opponent Jake Ellenberger, ultimately leading to a second-round submission loss.
Ellenberger ended the fight early in the second round with a North-South choke, after adjusting to Koscheck's wrestling and preventing follow-up takedown attempts.
Ellenberger worked his way back up to his feet in the first after being taken down by Koscheck. After that, the two traded hard, single shots, with large gaps in action for the remainder of the first.
In the second round, Koscheck shot in for another takedown. This time, however, he was forced to fight harder for it as Ellenberger defended well until the referee handed him an assist and separated them.
Then, Ellenberger began to stalk Koscheck on the feet, backing Koscheck against the cage. Ellenberger began to look more comfortable, landed a jab and then a hook to the head of the former title challenger.
Koscheck charged back in again, shooting for another takedown, but Ellenberger used a nasty hold to reverse his momentum. Ellenberger locked in a front choke and forced Koscheck to his back.
From there, Koscheck writhed and twisted, looking to escape. Ellenberger refused to loosen his grip, however, and sunk his hips down lower onto the mat as he moved to a North-South position over his opponent, forcing Koscheck to tap out and submit at the 4:20 mark of the second round.
"He hits hard. He's always dangerous," Ellenberger said, before giving credit to his teammate, middleweight Mark Munoz.
"That's a choke that Mark Munoz showed me. ... I was expecting him to go out. He's a super-tough guy."
The win ends a three-fight win drought for Ellenberger and increases Koscheck's losing streak to four. Ellenberger's record now stands at 30-9, as Koscheck's dips to 17-9.
