UFC 129 Fight Card Preview: Jake Ellenberger Vs Sean Pierson
I'm usually pretty hard pressed to find a reason to pick against Jake Ellenberger, but this fight has some issues for me. We know Ellenberger can maul tough guys like Mike Pyle and John Howard, but Pierson presents some problems in this fight. Pierson, a southpaw and an absolute technician on the feet, should give Ellenberger some issues in the set up. Concern for me comes in the lack of time Ellenberger had to prepare for him.
People are overlooking Pierson’s overall game and this should by no means be a cakewalk for Jake. Ellenberger, who cuts down a fair bit to make 170, hasn’t had the kind of training camp he’s used to. He’s taking this fight on extremely short notice and we’ll have to see what sort of an effect that has on his cardio.
With that said, I like Ellenberger on his worst day just a bit more than I like Sean Pierson. He should be able to use his dominant wrestling to maintain a smothering top game. This is a huge leap in competition for Pierson and I'm not quite sure he's ready. It could be tougher than Ellenberger and fans were counting on, but I see Ellenberger taking this fight.
