Jake Ellenberger will be celebrating a milestone in his next fight.
“The Juggernaut” will mark off UFC appearance No. 20 when he enters the cage vs. Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout scheduled for UFC Utica on June 1 at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, N.Y. Officials announced the matchup Tuesday.
This will be Ellenberger’s first fight since losing by second-round knockout to Mike Perry at UFC Nashville last April. The 32-year-old veteran has lost four of his past five fights and is just 2-7 in his last nine outings. His last win came at UFC 201 on July 2016, when he defeated Matt Brown by first-round TKO.
Ellenberger is 10-9 inside the Octagon and 31-13 overall as a professional.
Adding some intrigue to the bout is the fact that Barberena (13-5) defeated Ellenberger’s brother Joe in his UFC debut back in December 2014. Since then, “Bam Bam” has gone 3-3, with notable wins over Sage Northcutt and The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 winner Warlley Alves.
Barberena, 28, has alternated wins and losses in his past four fights. He split his two appearances in 2017, defeating Joe Proctor by first-round TKO last April, and then dropping a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards in September.
In the main event of UFC Utica, Jimmie Rivera fights Marlon Moraes in a battle of highly-ranked bantamweights.
See the updated card below:
Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Moraes
Sijara Eubanks vs. Lauren Murphy
Hector Sandoval vs. Jarred Brooks
Jake Ellenberger vs. Bryan Barberena