TUF Live Finale: Jake Ellenberger Questions Answered

Friday night, Jake Ellenberger headlines his third consecutive UFC event on a different network. A quick KO of Jake Shields on Spike, a Fight of the Night with Deigo Sanchez on FuelTV and now he is matched up with highly ranked Martin Kampmann on FX.

Ellenberger is riding a six-fight win streak, with four finishes, to the contest; another victory would make him a prime candidate for a title shot.

Here are five questions that may be answered at The Ultimate Fighter Finale.

How Much Has His Stand-Up Really Improved?

His recent fights have shown remarkable improvement in his striking. On Friday evening, he'll square off with the best technical striker he has fought in some time.

During his recent fights, he has shown a variety of strikes and angles, good footwork and technique. The fight against Kampmann will be a litmus test as to how much his striking attack, and defense, has improved.

That is, if he chooses to keep the fight on the feet.

Can He Submit a Top Ranked Fighter?

Jake Ellenberger has been on a tear since dropping his UFC debut to Carlos Condit in 2009.

Ellenberger has yet to submit an opponent since an armbar victory over Delson Heleno in 2007. While wrestling, an old fashioned ground and pound has served him well; he has yet to show his submission skills inside the Octagon.

If he were to submit Martin Kampmann, it would show his game is near complete. It's just another dimension added to his skill set for future opposition to prepare for.

Can He Go Five Rounds?

The main event at The Ultimate Fighter Finale will be Ellenberger's first go around in a five round fight inside the Octagon.

His two previous main event bouts were only scheduled for three rounds, and after his performance against Diego Sanchez, the UFC President, Dana White, made it known that was a mistake.

Ellenberger faded in the third against Sanchez and was in danger of having the fight stopped. The fight had a maniacal pace to it, but with Sanchez still pushing forward and making Ellenberger wilt, it called his cardio into question. He will have a chance, if the fight moves past the third, to answer the question and prove he is ready for championship rounds.

Does a Victory Put Him Next in Line for a Title Shot?

As B/R's Jeremy Botter points out in his article, this question may be answered tonight at the weigh-ins, but that is merely speculation.

With that aside, Ellenberger is on a six-fight win streak with this being his third fight with a top 10 opponent. On merit alone, that would put him in line for a shot at the championship. However, the division is currently in a state of uncertainty with future title challengers due to GSP's injury.

Carlos Condit is waiting for the champion to get healthy in an attempt to unify the championship. If that fight is still set to happen later this year, it would mean that Ellenberger would be on the shelf until 2013 if he earns a shot at the gold.

And what about Nick Diaz, Rory MacDonald and the other top 170-pounders in the division? The waters of the welterweight division are currently very murky.

Ellenberger may choose to fight again in 2012, but it is still a question as to whether the UFC would make him the next in line for the title after Condit and GSP. He'll need to do battle with other contenders in the wings.

Is Ellenberger a Draw?

As we know, merit is not the only thing that counts when earning a title shot. We still do not know how the fans perceive the highly ranked welterweight.

His main event performance against Jake Shields on Spike was one of the lowest rated shows in 2011, but it still ranked number one in the 18-34 male demographic. And FuelTV's reach is even less, even with an exciting Fight of the Night with Diego Sanchez. The main event peaked with only 315,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, contenders such as Rory MacDonald have been promoted in co-main events on pay-per-views. And while Nick Diaz is currently suspended, when he returns to action, he will be just as marketable as ever.

As the UFC continues to build its brand on the FOX family of networks, it will be interesting to see how many eyes are on The Ultimate Fighter Finale and the main event between Ellenberger and Kampmann. In terms of drawing in potential PPV buys, Ellenberger is clearly a step behind some of the other contenders in the division.