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UTICA, N.Y. – Jake Ellenberger has never been afraid to reinvent himself.

Since moving from Nebraska to Southern California as a promising up-and-comer on the MMA scene, Ellenberger (31-13 MMA, 10-9 UFC) has sought out the best minds to shape him into a world champion. Some of the veteran UFC welterweight’s moves have worked out; others have been busts.

On the verge of Ellenberger’s 20th walk to the UFC octagon, there’s never been a more critical time for him to turn over a new leaf. A brutal knockout loss to Mike Perry benched him for most of 2017 and left him with a recent 2-7 record in the promotion – a run that would signal forced retirement for fighters without his resume and history of exciting fights.

Ellenberger still has a core group of training partner he’s worked with for several years, and it includes veterans from Kings MMA such as UFC lightweight standout Beneil Dariush. New faces such as UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and Bellator featherweight contender Aaron Pico are also there. But the person he’s leaned on to bring everything together for a pivotal bout at UFC Fight Night 131 is Sam Calavitta, a strength and conditioning coach in Anaheim, Calif.

For a fight camp against Ben Saunders (21-9-2 MMA, 7-6 UFC), a fellow vet he was scheduled to fight eight years ago before unforeseen circumstances arose, Ellenberger said he’s learned to push beyond his usual limits in training. That’s not an uncommon statement from a fighter, especially one who’s toured several major MMA gyms. But he believes he’s found a new source of inspiration.

Throughout his career, Ellenberger has looked in unusual places to find that. He once hired a special forces trainer to put him in situations similar to those faced in combat zones. After so many years of walking through the standard routine of getting ready for a fight – an event with so much built in uncertainty – he’s gained confidence by putting himself through extreme stress in the weeks beforehand.

“Nobody likes to put himself in the black, as they call it, but you learn a lot about yourself when you do,” said Ellenberger, who meets Saunders on the FS1-televised main card of Friday’s event at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, N.Y.

Whether the latest change turns the tide or ends in another disappointment, that’s the perpetual question. At times, Ellenberger has looked brilliant in the octagon while stopping opponents such as Matt Brown and Josh Koscheck with violent precision. But at this point, he’ll just settle for a win against Saunders.

“It’s been so much about me and shifting around with my foundation (and) refocusing,” he said. “Like, what got me here? What got me into the top five? I’ve been there. So right now, it’s one fight at a time. It’s been a long road of reinventing myself, and I think it’s going to show Friday.”

After trying so many new things, Ellenberger would like to find a system that works sustainably. Because as much as his physical training has evolved, the most reliable source of uncertainty he’s faced is his mindset on fight night. Without the proper one, all the suffering outside the cage doesn’t translate to success.

And so Ellenberger continues to look for the right formula, one that returns him to the complete fighter that rocketed up the welterweight ranks.

“It’s always you vs. you,” he said. “It’s really a deep thought, because you look at a fight, and it’s one guy vs. another. But it’s really not. It’s you vs. you.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 131, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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