LAS VEGAS – It’s been more than a year since Jake Ellenberger retired from MMA, and he has no regrets.
Ellenberger (31-15 MMA, 10-11 UFC), who recently relocated to Las Vegas, said while he admits he misses the competition aspect of MMA, he has no real desire to come back to fighting.
“As of right now, no, but yeah, I miss the workouts, the training, the camaraderie,” Ellenberger told MMA Junkie. “Right now is no.”
Since retiring, Ellenberger competed in a grappling match against familiar foe Diego Sanchez, edging him out at Submission Underground 8 in May. Grappling is certainly something Ellenberger would like to continue competing in moving forward.
Meanwhile, other MMA veterans have seemingly migrated to bare-knuckle boxing late in their careers for a chance to continue competing. Ellenberger is clear on which route he would prefer.
“Grappling, for sure,” Ellenberger said. “I did a couple of the ‘Submission Underground,’ Chael Sonnen’s event. I love those. Those events are a lot of fun. So grappling, all day long. Bare-knuckle, no desire. Absolutely not. I would say probably not, but I do love competing in grappling any day of the week. But we’ll see. MMA, I don’t know.”
