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Some questioned Rory MacDonald after he took a fight with BJ Penn last year.

MacDonald, a rising star, and Penn, a previously-retired former UFC champion, were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

After the Canadian picked Penn apart, he called out Carlos Condit for a rematch. The fight was booked, but MacDonald was forced to pull out after suffering a neck injury.

Now, fully healed, MacDonald will face Jake Ellenberger later this year in a key match for both fighters in regards to the UFC’s welterweight rankings.

“I haven’t beaten the caliber of fighters who are Top-10 or the guys he has beaten,” MacDonald said, while appearing on Alchemist Radio recently. “I’m a young guy and trying to work my way up into that position.”

MacDonald’s (14-1) lone career loss came to Condit, while Ellenberger (29-6) has won two straight, including a recent win over Nate Marquardt.

“Jake is definitely going to be the hardest hitter I’ve ever faced,” MacDonald said. “I think I have some tools that he’s going to be surprised with and I think I’ll be able to figure out the puzzle.”

Jake Ellenberger is likely 1 to 2 fights away from a title fight, and up first is Rory MacDonald. Ellenberger feels he’s faced tougher guys than MacDonald, and that his own experience will lead him to victory over the young MacDonald.

Jake Ellenberger has some strong remarks for fellow Top-10 UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald.

“I think he’s definitely a young up and comer, but nothing special,” said Ellenberger, during a recent interview with MMA Opinion. “I’m not really sold on him. In my opinion, the only Top-10 guy in our division he’s fought, he’s lost to, and that’s Carlos Condit.”

The two are set to meet in July at UFC on FOX 8, and Ellenberger believes with a win, he’ll become the No. 1 contender to the title.

Ellenberger has posted two straight wins since a loss to Martin Kampmann last year, including a finish of Nate Marquardt in March. He seems to believe much of the “MacDonald hype” is generated because of his training at Tristar gym in Canada alongside UFC champ Georges St-Pierre.

It’s still surprising to me, for some reason some people in this industry think he’s a top five guy, which I don’t even think he’s a Top-10 guy. But, for some reason he has a lot of hype. It must be because he trains with GSP. And he trains at that, whatever, he trains at that gym. I think I have fought and defeated tougher opponents in my UFC career than Rory MacDonald. But I never had a choice in who I fight, you know. He’s the name they gave me and I was all for it. Just let me know when and where.

It’s kind of weird to hear someone rag on their opponent’s standing when a win could vault him into title contention.

A report by The Province has a match set for the UFC’s return to Seattle in July, as welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger will meet.

MacDonald (14-1) has been out of action since earning a December win over BJ Penn. He suffered a neck injury in training that forced him to be removed from a planned encounter with Carlos Condit.

Ellenberger (29-6), meanwhile, will be looking to improve to 9-1 in his last 10 when he faces MacDonald. He scored a finish of Nate Marquardt earlier this year.

Rick Story knows what it feels like to be on the cusp of competing for UFC gold.

Jake Ellenberger is currently in that position following a win over Nate Marquardt, and Story is upset about it.

See, Story has a reason, as he defeated Ellenberger face in 2008 before either fighter reached the UFC. Now, whether that is of importance five years later doesn’t seem to matter to “The Horror,” as he recently posted his call out on Facebook.

I want to fight Jake Ellenberger! It pisses me off that he’s getting all of the accolades when I already beat him. It’s annoying that people keep making the excuse for Jake “well that was earlier in your guy’s career”.
OK, even back then he had 3 times the amount of fights that I had.

Also, let’s look at more recent times, he got Ko’d by Martin Kampmann in the 2nd round where as I went the distance with Kampmann with 1 leg.

The bottom line is I want to be in the position he is in right now and if I have to beat his ass again to get there…… Then Let’s do it!

Ellenberger appears to be poised for a potential title shot or a No. 1 contender match, while Story has rebounded from two straight losses to go 2-1 in his last three.

That’s not really a “dream” match up for the UFC, as the welterweight division remains full of top contenders right now.

Well guys it’s finally here. UFC 158′s main card will kick off shortly, and we’ll finally see the feud between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz come to a head. Georges looks to defend his long-held welterweight title against brash Nick Diaz in the main event.

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Mike Ricci (7-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Colin Fletcher (8-2, 0-1 UFC):

The main card for UFC 158 on March 16, 2012 begins with a bout between Mike Ricci and Colin Fletcher. Neither fighter has a win in their UFC careers so both will fighting for a spot on the roster. The UFC is going to continue it’s downsizing after UFC 158 and an 0-2 record will not look appealing to Joe Silva. Both fighters have showed poor takedown defense in their UFC debuts but Fletcher was the only one who mounted any offense against his foe. Look for Fletcher to use his length to pepper Ricci from the outside. Fletcher by decision.

Nick Ring (13-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Chris Camozzi (18-5, 5-2 UFC):

Nick Ring is coming off a terrible decision over Court McGee at UFC 149. On the other hand, Camozzi is on a three-fight win streak with his most impressive victory being Luiz Cane. I think Ring will try to bring the bout to the mat but Camozzi will be savvy enough to keep him away with his jab.  He’ll be able to do just enough to outpoint Ring with his kicks and jabs. Camozzi by decision.

Jake Ellenberger (28-6, 7-2 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-11-2, 10-4 UFC):

Ellenberger has shown the ability to dominate opponents that he can take down with ease. Marquardt, on the other hand, is a guy who is incredibly difficult to finish. His only stoppage via strikes came against Anderson Silva. If Ellenberger is able to continue his calm, strategic style that he employed against Jay Hieron, he will be able to grind his way to a victory over Marquardt. He has to be careful not to get too excited in the opening rounds and go all out for the finish. If he does, Marquardt has the ability to make him pay like Martin Kampmann did. I think Ellenberger will do enough to stay calm and grind his way to a decision. Ellenberger via decision.

Carlos Condit (28-6, 5-2 UFC) vs. Johny Hendricks (14-1, 9-1 UFC):

Condit has not lost consecutive bouts since 2006. Meanwhile, Johny Hendricks is coming off a huge knockout victory over Martin Kampmann and “Bigg Rigg” has steamrolled his way through five straight UFC opponents. Condit is a very hard fighter to put away and I don’t see Hendricks being able to knock him out with one punch. Condit employed a masterful game plan against Nick Diaz that kept him at distance throughout the fight. Though he wasn’t able to do the same against Georges St. Pierre, Hendricks’ MMA wrestling is not at the same level as St. Pierre. Look for Condit to land powerful kicks that slow down the offensive wrestling of Hendricks. Condit will get taken down a few times, but he’ll get back up and punish Hendricks on the feet. Condit by decision.

Georges St. Pierre (23-2, 17-2) vs. Nick Diaz (26-8, 7-5 UFC):

St. Pierre showed no ill effects of his ACL reconstruction in his bout against Condit at UFC 154. He employed his time-tested game plan of takedowns and ground-and-pound. He’ll look to do the same against Nick Diaz, who is coming off a loss to the former interim champion. Diaz will try to punish the body and pepper the face of St. Pierre with punches. If St. Pierre freezes and succumbs to the pressure like BJ Penn did, he risks a stoppage from Diaz. I don’t think Diaz will be on his feet long enough to accumulate enough damage to stop St. Pierre. Much like his other title defenses, St. Pierre will take down Diaz and smother him for 5 rounds. Diaz is too tough to stop but it is possible St. Pierre can open up a cut that forces a doctors stoppage. Georges St. Pierre by doctor’s stoppage.

What do you think fight fans? Get at me @samgenovese on Twitter.

The fighters took to the scale for UFC 158 earlier today, and we now are officially a go for Saturday evening from Montreal.

In the main event, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz will finally settle their long-running feud.

Other key bouts include Carlos Condit-Johny Hendricks to determine the next contender in the welterweight division, and Jake Ellenberger vs. a returning Nate Marquardt.

Complete results from the weigh-ins can be found below:

MAIN CARD (PPV)

UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges St-Pierre (170 lbs.) vs. Nick Diaz (169 lbs.)

Carlos Condit (169 lbs.) vs. Johny Hendricks (171 lbs.)

Jake Ellenberger (170 lbs.) vs. Nate Marquardt (171 lbs.)

Chris Camozzi (185 lbs.) vs. Nick Ring (183 lbs.)

Mike Ricci (156 lbs.) vs. Colin Fletcher (155 lbs.)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

Patrick Cote (169 lbs.) vs. Bobby Voelker (169 lbs.)

Antonio Carvalho (145 lbs.) vs. Darren Elkins (145 lbs.)

Dan Miller (171 lbs.) vs. Jordan Mein (170 lbs.)

John Makdessi (155 lbs.) vs. Daron Cruickshank (155 lbs.)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FACEBOOK)

Rick Story (169 lbs.) vs. Quinn Mulhern (168 lbs.)

T.J. Dillashaw (135 lbs.) vs. Issei Tamura (135 lbs.)

George Roop (135 lbs.) vs. Reuben Duran (135 lbs.)

UFC 158 Countdown features the fighters from the respective event, and it gives in site into the issues going on behind the curtain.

Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz

Carlos Condit and Johny Hendricks

Nate Marquardt and Jake Ellenberger

Jake Ellenberger looked poised to take on Georges St. Pierre. All he had to do was put Martin Kampmann away after dominating him for the first round of their fight. It looked as if Ellenberger was ready to steamroll Kampmann at the beginning of round two. Instead, he got over aggressive and allowed the always dangerous  Kampmann to land a few choice knees that put his lights out. After getting so close to a title shot, it was back to the drawing board for Ellenberger.

On March 16^th, Ellenberger is set to take on Nate Marquardt at UFC 158. Ellenberger looks to get back in the title picture before the road to contention is clogged with contenders. Already, the winner of Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit looks to get a title shot. What if Nick Diaz becomes champion? I would guess St. Pierre would be first in line for another shot.

The point is, if Ellenberger wants to get a shot at the title, he can’t afford to lose again and be knocked back down to the bottom of the totem pole. Marquardt provides a tough, well-rounded test for Ellenberger. If nothing else, Marquardt has shown solid cardio, which has been the Achilles heel for Ellenberger. It certainly seemed that he slowed down considerably in the Martin Kampmann fight.

Ellenberger may be a guy who just never has the greatest cardio. It’s easy to tell fighters they have to improve but there are fighters like Dan Henderson who have gone their entire careers without improving that area. It’s not because they don’t care, it’s because that is simply the way their bodies are built. It doesn’t mean that Ellenberger can’t be an effective fighter. He just needs to learn to fight in a way that minimizes those issues. Ellenberger should be able to take down Marquardt and is a legitimate threat to dethrone Georges St. Pierre, if he should get a shot at the title.

What do you think fight fans? Get at me @samgenovese on Twitter.