If you saw Jake Ellenberger at your local motocross track, you’d probably have no idea that he was a professional UFC fighter. The 30-year-old former Marine may make his living in the Octagon, but he spends his downtime spinning laps on his Kawasaki KX250F at the track—where he doesn’t look any different from the rest of the moto crowd. Soft-spoken and polite, Ellenberger is one of the few athletes on the planet that is invested in both MMA and motocross on a serious level, and as such he has some interesting advice that applies to both sports.
We recently spent a few days with Jake—both at the Studio 540 Mixed Martial Arts Academy, and at Pala Raceway—during which he shared a lot of insight into what the sports of MX and MMA have in common, what it takes to be a top competitor in an individual sport, and how motocross and off-road racers improve their results by approaching two-wheeled competition with a fighter's mentality. To read the full story, you'll need to check out the December/January issue of Dirt Rider. But this photo gallery—provided by the legendary Justin Kosman—will give you a taste of Ellenberger's tough-as-nails mentality, as well as a look at the two sports which he so dearly loves and thrives in.
Want more? Follow Jake on Instagram @ellenbergermma.