Jake Ellenberger may have losses in eight of his past 10 fights, but that doesn’t mean the veteran welterweight is planning on moving on from the sport.

Ellenberger (31-14 MMA, 10-10 UFC) is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Ben Saunders at UFC Fight Night 131 earlier this month. The bout ended in less than two minutes, with “The Juggernaut” eating a nasty knee to the liver that led to the disappointing result and another defeat on his record.

At 33, retirement from MMA competition is not currently on Ellenberger’s mind, he said. He said he’ll know when the time has come for that, and it’s not now, especially given the quality of his training.

“In my 12 years of fighting, that was the best preparation leading up to a fight camp that I’ve ever had,” Ellenberger told MMAjunkie Radio. “You can’t point any fingers to what happened. Everything was right, everything was on the money. It was particularly frustrating for this fight, because moving forward, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I know I’m not done fighting, and I think we have the right recipe.

“If I wake up and I didn’t want to fight or didn’t have that chip on my shoulder or that burning desire – it’s time to move on. That’s an easy question to answer. But there’s some people out there who want to make another paycheck.”

After taking a nearly 14-month layoff following a knockout to Mike Perry at UFC Fight Night 108 in April 2017, Ellenberger made his return to the octagon for the encounter with Saunders. He said he did everything right in terms of getting himself physically and mentally prepared to come back, but sometimes in the cruel fight game, that’s still not enough.

“It was one of those nights where everything was clicking,” Ellenberger said. “Everything was on. I felt great. There was no – people like to point fingers. Hindsight’s always 20/20, but there was nothing that was hindering the preparation leading up to this fight. I had six months, five-and-a-half months leading up to the fight. It’s literally one of those things where there’s no room for error. One mistake happens, and it can end the fight. It’s super frustrating, but you have to deal with it.”

Ellenberger is currently in Las Vegas and said he intends on meeting with UFC President Dana White soon to discuss his future. Despite an underwhelming recent record, there seems to be no fear on Ellenberger’s side about possibly parting ways with the UFC, where he’s been a mainstay since his promotional debut in September 2009.

If Ellenberger had his way, he would be added to the UFC Fight Night 135 lineup, which takes place Aug. 25 in Lincoln, Neb. As a Nebraska native, Ellenberger said he would like nothing more than to land a spot on that card. If it doesn’t happen, though, he said he’s prepared for whatever comes next.

“I’m going to sit down and talk to Dana, and we’ll see,” Ellenberger said. “I have no idea what’s next. We’re talking August (at UFC Fight Night 135), September maybe. But I can’t give you any certainty.”

To hear more from Ellenberger, check out the video above.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 131, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Gallery Ben Saunders def. Jake Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 131: Best photos view 6 images

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