TUF Live Finale: Power Ranking Jake Ellenberger's UFC Fights

Friday marks the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 15, effectively crowning another champion of the long-running TV show. But, the event will be headlined by top contending welterweights Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger.

Jake Ellenberger's rise to the top of the division has been impressive to say the least. The wrestling-based Nebraskan has shown a great chin and powerful hands to go along with his top-level wrestling.

Here is a power ranking of Jake Ellenberger's fights in the UFC thus far.

UFC Fight Night: Ellenberger vs. Carlos Condit

Jake Ellenberger's only loss in the UFC comes in at the last spot of the power rankings, as it was the only fight he lost.

Ellenberger drew Carlos Condit in his UFC debut, a tough fight for any man to take. Ellenberger pushed forward and fought a good fight, eventually going to the judge's scorecards. Condit went on to take a razor-thin split decision, which some may view as controversial.

Ellenberger may not have won, but he put himself on the map as a tough competitor. 

UFC 126: Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha

Originally slated to face Jon Fitch, Jake Ellenberger instead met Carlos Eduardo Rocha, a then-undefeated Brazilian who had the submissions to cancel out Ellenberger's wrestling.

The fight was closely contested throughout, with no man getting a clear advantage. It eventually went to the scorecards, where Ellenberger would take a close split decision.

It showed that Ellenberger still had some things to work on, but ultimately showed that Rocha was a legitimate welterweight prospect more than anything.

UFC 108: Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle

Following the loss in his debut against Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger was pitted against respected veteran Mike Pyle, another tall task for Ellenberger.

Just 22 seconds into the second round, the referee had to step in and save Pyle, who was taking serious damage from the ground-and-pound of Ellenberger.

Ellenberger looked solid throughout the fight, showing off his well-rounded game. 

UFC 129: Ellenberger vs. Sean Pierson

UFC 129 was a historic event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, setting a North American live gate record. It was also important for Jake Ellenberger, as he stepped in on late notice for Brian Foster to fight Sean Pierson.

Pierson was home-crowd favorite, but that meant nothing to Ellenberger. At 2:42 of the first round, Ellenberger connected with a devastating left hook that rendered Pierson unconscious. The punch was so wicked, that it ended up breaking Ellenberger's hand.

The most impressive part about this was that Ellenberger took the fight on 17 days notice and still triumphed with ease.

UFC Live: Ellenberger vs. John Howard

If a picture tells a thousand words, then John Howard's face is a novel. That came courtesy of Jake Ellenberger.

John Howard was coming off a brutal knockout of Daniel Roberts, and many thought that he was going to do the same to Ellenberger.

Ellenberger instead used his wrestling and brutal ground-and-pound to completely close up Howard's eye.

The doctor stepped in and stopped the fight midway through the third round. It showed how incredibly dangerous Ellenberger was and earned him many fans in the process.

UFC on Fuel: Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez

Jake Ellenberger's latest bout was one of his greatest, as he outlasted the always-dangerous Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision. 

After dominating two rounds, Ellenberger found himself in trouble at the end of the fight. He would eventually get himself out of the troubling situation and earn a unanimous decision victory.

It won "Fight of the Night" honors, and for good reason. The main event delivered and continued to exemplify Ellenberger's legitimacy. 

UFC Fight Night: Ellenberger vs. Jake Shields

In Jake Ellenberger's first main event of his UFC career, he delivered with his best fight to date. He had a huge obstacle in front of him with top-10 ranked Jake Shields.

Ellenberger made quick work of Shields, putting him away with knees and punches in under a minute. It was after this fight there was no doubt in anybody's mind that Ellenberger would become a threat to the title.