Omaha native Jake Ellenberger returns to his hometown Feb. 15 for a UFC fight with Diego Sanchez. Get a behind-the-scenes look at his fight preparations on Omaha.com with trainer Riley Ross in the lead-up to the fight. Ross is the founder of Higher Tactics Treigning Systems, where he serves as a sports nutrition and performance specialist. He is also the Director of Personal Fitness Training at Vatterott College in Omaha.

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Two weeks ago, Jake Ellenberger arrived back home in Omaha at Eppley Airfield with two almost coffin-sized bags containing his “battle gear.” He was greeted by his two brothers, Adam and Joe.

His brothers and his gear — it’s all Jake needs to be in a comfort zone and feel right at home.

A fighter’s career is dependent on the infrastructure around him — the people he trusts that oversee his exposure and training. There could not be more loyal confidants than these two brothers. The elder, Adam, served alongside Jake in the Marine Corps. He has been his business source, helping Jake with promotions, fan support and tying up loose ends in the weeks leading up to a fight.

Jake’s life-long training partner and twin brother, Joe, has a near-perfect record in MMA while fighting a rare blood disorder that sidelined him for nearly two years. Joe has helped give Jake structure and discipline.

At the airport, the brothers’ confident smiles and warm embraces quickly turned to discussions on training and scheduling for Jake’s biggest fight, back home in Omaha.

Over the last seven years, Jake has been to four continents in his quest to become a top MMA fighter. He started his career in Omaha, training with UFC talents Ryan Jensen and Jason Brilz, and later moved to Oregon to train at Team Quest with now-UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and Husker wrestling legend Matt Lindland.

The move to Quest was a turning point. He gained a skill-set and confidence knowing that he could compete with some of the sport’s very best. After bouncing back and forth between several places, Jake has spent the last six months at Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, Calif. With Mark Munoz at the helm, Jake has teamed with a stable of talented individuals and catapulted his skills and confidence toward a goal of becoming the next UFC welterweight champion.

The work has led Jake to a main card fight Feb. 15 with one of the sport’s most recognized and consistent veterans, Diego Sanchez. A winner of the first “Ultimate Fighter” reality show, the “Nightmare” has won 23 of his 27 fights. Two years ago, he fought and lost to BJ Penn for the title at 155 pounds. He then made a move up to the welterweight division, where he has won three of his last four fights. Diego’s tenacity, experience and fight pace will be in top form as he finds himself in a precarious role: taking on a fighter on his native soil.

Jake is now back at his point of origin — Omaha — which goes contrary to his intent of leaving to embrace the grind and growth that’s only possible when you put yourself in the most foreign and uncomfortable situations.

This blog will offer an occasional glimpse at the most crucial part of preparation, what followers of MMA call “Fight Week.” For fighters, mention of it brings feelings of joy and pain, bad memories of lost fights and missed flights, hours in hot saunas, beat-up bodies and the tremendous pressure of winning to sustain one’s family and reputation in the UFC.

It’s a viewpoint that few know and fewer have experienced. So welcome to an insider look at what those closest to this Omaha fighter have coined “Jake’s Homecoming.”