Jake Ellenberger may have entered the Octagon as an underdog on Saturday night, but he walked away from the cage as only the second man to beat Jake Shields in over six years.

Ellenberger (Pictured; file photo) took just 53 seconds to pass the stiffest test of his career, pocketing an extra $55,000 and earning “Knockout of the Night” honors at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans.

With his win on Saturday, Ellenberger became the first man to finish the American jiu-jitsu practitioner since Shields’ third pro fight in 2000. Regarded as one of MMA’s pound-for-pound best, Shields is a former two-division world champion and recently went the distance with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

“This is one of my biggest wins,” Ellenberger told UFC.com following his victory in the evening’s main event. “I can’t take anything away from what Jake Shields has done. He’s a multiple-time world champion and that’s just [the kind of competition] that I want, so I’m going to keep working hard.”

Headlining the UFC’s first trip to Louisiana since 2002, Ellenberger and Shields clashed in the clinch early in round one. As the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product attempted to lock up a Thai plum, Ellenberger began to launch hooks at his foe’s skull, creating space.

When Shields lunged forward to close the gap and dig for a takedown, “The Juggernaut” met him with a perfectly-timed knee to the face, buckling his opponent’s knees and leaving him stunned on all fours. Ellenberger wasted no time in pouncing on his foe, controlling his back while winging punches at Shields’ temple. To Shields’ credit, he continued driving for a single leg, but referee Kevin Mulhall had seen enough and stepped in to save Shields from further punishment.

“It happened really fast. In the clinch, I hit him with some knees,” said Ellenberger. “Like [training partner and UFC middleweight] Mark Munoz and I have been working on, when a guy is on your legs, just strike from every position. I knew he was hurt and I just went for the finish.”

Ellenberger appeared razor sharp in his technique on Saturday, a fact the 26-year-old attributes to a difficult training camp leading up to the bout. Regardless of where this victory places him in the UFC’s welterweight ranks, Ellenberger says he will continue to reap the benefits of his labor in the gym.

“We’ve been training so hard. These last eight weeks were hell. They were not fun at all, and it was all for this night,” he said. “My coaches are there for me all the time. They believe in me. It’s hard to believe. The sky is the limit -- that's what they tell me every day, and tonight it really showed. I worked my butt off and it helped out tonight, big time. And that [feels] awesome.”