Jon Fitch Fight Not Booked
In lieu of a planned bout with Jon Fitch, Jake Ellenberger (23-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) instead is expected to meet welterweight prospect Carlos Eduardo Rocha (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the televised main card of UFC 126.
Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com verbal agreements are in place with contracts on the way.
UFC 126 takes place Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.
The Super Bowl weekend show features a middleweight title bout between reigning champion Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort.
Ellenberger was expected to meet Fitch at UFC 126. However, Fitch was rebooked and now slatted to face B.J. Penn at UFC 127 following a tepid response to the intiially proposed matchup. Penn wowed UFC fans with a 21-second knockout victory over once-dominant welterweight champion Matt Hughes earlier this month at UFC 123, which set in motion the Fitch-Ellenberger cancellation.
Ellenberger in March dispatched hot prospect John Howard with a fearsome attack of ground and pound when they faced off at UFC on Versus 2. It was the Nebraskan's second consecutive octagon victory after railroading veteran Mike Pyle at UFC 109 in February.
The 25-year-old made his debut at UFC Fight Night 19 after an impressive stretch on the regional circuit and lost a razor-thin split decision to former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. It's the only loss in his past seven fights.
Rocha, meanwhile, is a little more than a month removed from an impressive octagon debut in which he submitted "The Ultimate Fighter 11" runner-up Kris McCray with a kneebar at UFC 122.
The undefeated Brazilian now has eight first-round stoppage victories to his credit, seven of which come by submission.
