Jake Ellenberger: 'I feel like I can beat Jake Shields right now'

Photo via Sherdog.com

Hey, it worked for Dan Hardy, so why not?
Surging UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger has been campaigning for a fight against former division number one contender Jake Shields following the UFC 129: "St. Pierre vs. Shields" event back on April 29 in Toronto, Canada.
The "Hogtown" pay-per-view saw Shields lose his first fight in over six years when a one-eyed Georges St. Pierre jabbed his way to a five round unanimous decision victory. It also saw Ellenberger win his fourth straight, a violent, first round knockout over Sean Pierson on the Spike TV "Prelims" Special.
"The Juggernaut" (24-5) shattered his left hand in the process, but has already undergone surgery to repair it and has set his sights on bigger and better things within the division.
But is he biting off more than he can chew?
Despite his inability to "wow" the fans in his two Octagon appearances, Shields (26-5-1) has a world-class ground game and a resume that boasts wins over some of the sport's most gifted combatants.
Not that it makes him "a hard guy to figure out" according to Ellenberger (via Sherdog.com):

"If they do make that match and me and Jake get to fight, he’s not a hard guy to figure out. I feel like I can beat him right now. There’s a lot of things in the past that I wasn’t doing correctly. It was kind of a learning process for me. This sport still being so new, earlier in my career I loved to compete and I was making a little bit of money, but I don’t think I was as focused and disciplined as I am now. I’ve surrounded myself with such good people. Good coaching and training partners, guys that really believe in me."

Ellenberger has "guys that really believe in him" ... are you one of them?
After several years of terrorizing the regional circuit, the hard-hitting wrestler lost a razor-thin split decision in his Octagon debut against Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 19 back in late 2009.
He's been perfect ever since.
Aside from a split decision scare against the dangerous stylings of Eduardo Carlos Rocha at UFC 126 last February, Ellenberger's finished his remaining three victims via heavy hands.