UFC 140 Fight Card: Is Brian Ebersole a Welterweight Title Dark Horse?

It wasn't supposed to be this way for Brian Ebersole. At best, he was a semisolid stand-in for Carlos Condit at UFC 127. At worst, he was an oddly coiffed speed bump on Chris Lytle's way back to welterweight relevance.

Nearly eight months later, we all know how that stands. Ebersole is undefeated (2-0, but still) in the UFC, while Lytle is taking snapshots of the sunrise for one of those retirement planning commercials. At least, that's what I imagine him doing.

In any case, it is now clear that Ebersole isn't an oddly coiffed speed bump after all. Instead, he's an oddly coiffed contender. Yeah, that's right. I said contender.

Even though he's a youngen in the UFC, he's a heavily-seasoned veteran of the sport with a record of 48-14-1 (1).  But he's still only 30 years old. It's not often that a fighter can bring with him into the cage the kind of savvy that only comes from having more than 60 fights, then blend it with the youth and athleticism that allows him to act on it.

That potent combination was readily apparent in both of his bouts in the Octagon. He used extremely unorthodox striking (cartwheel kick, anyone?) to put Lytle on his heels, then used his D-1 wrestling background and unassailable toughness to defeat Lights Out in a unanimous decision, Fight-of-the-Night-winning performance.

The real gem in his UFC career, though, is Dennis Hallman. The fellow grizzled veteran with the respected submission grappling game (he submitted Matt Hughes not once but twice) figured to be a tall measuring stick for Ebersole. It didn't go that way. Hallman controlled the fight early, but Ebersole soon gained top control. Achieving full mount on a fighter like Hallman is not easy. But Ebersole did it.

And he didn't waste the opportunity. 

Ebersole mixed up his shots, feinting and confusing Hallman like he was Kobe pulling ball fakes. By the time the fight ended by first-round TKO, Hallman was a woozy, turtle-y blob.

Next up for Ebersole:  one Rory MacDonald.  Maybe you've heard of him?  Welterweight phenom, trains with GSP, 12-1 record, already anointed the next great UFC champion?  They'll get it on at UFC 140 Dec. 10.

Ebersole had two stand-up-and-take-notice wins. Well, the UFC sure noticed. No way they hand him to MacDonald unless they had. 

But lest you think Ebersole is just raw meat for the young lion, think again.

He has outwrestled a dangerous veteran striker in Lytle. Then he outgrappled and outstruck a dangerous veteran grappler in Hallman.  No denying that Ebersole is a strange bird, but frankly, who cares?  I like it, personally. We can't all have haircuts you can set your watch to.

More importantly, though, Ebersole has the essential wrestling base to hang with most anyone, but is also well-rounded enough to stand and is nasty enough to take the kill shot.  Oh, and let's not forget that, in all those fights, Ebersole has never been knocked out or TKO'd.  Not once.  He tapped to strikes against Hector Lombard, but that's it.

In short, nothing surprises him in there. He keeps his head, and he fights to finish. What's not to like?

He probably shouldn't be considered a title favorite quite yet, but is he a dark horse?  I'd say so.  Even if MacDonald bests him, the guess here is Ebersole gives the young man a very serious run for his money.