In a battle of two top-5 Welterweights, Jake Ellenberger will meet Rory MacDonald in the Octagon at UFC on Fox 8. It didn’t take long after the fight announcement for the two to start trading barbs on Twitter. Then, just a couple days ago, MacDonald said he wouldn’t mind doling out a little extra punishment when they fight because of Ellenberger’s trash talk.
At Tuesday’s UFC on Fox 8 media conference call, the two continued their verbal back-and-forth:
Jake Ellenberger: I never said anything that wasn’t true and my message was clear. I told him to prepare for some horizontal television time and I meant it.
Rory MacDonald: It doesn’t really bother me either way. I don’t care about disrespecting me. I just get in there and fight my fight. If they suffer they suffer, I don’t really care. It makes them look like an a——.
Jake Ellenberger: Damn it I’m an evidence-based abuser. I didn’t make him make the stupid decision to fight me. I’m just gonna make him look stupid when I destroy him.
Rory MacDonald: I’m just gonna focus on this fight for now. My whole career has been going with the flow. Everything changes after each fight. I’ll see where I am after this fight and assess the options from there.
On the same call, UFC president Dana White reinforced the importance of the fight for both fighters. He noted that this could be considered the biggest win of either man’s career thus far and that whoever wins “is right up there and close to a title shot.”
The Fox 8 event goes down on July 27 at the KeyArena in Seattle, WA. In the main event, Flyweight Demetrious Johnson will look to pick up his second title defense against contender John Moraga.