After watching a video bio on Jake Shields, I was more convinced than ever that he is very capable of beating any UFC 170 pound champion out there.
For the past ten years, Jake Shields has earned respect among the hardcore MMA community by dominating opponents at smaller fight promotions around the world.
Recently, with the now defunct Elite XC promotion, he used his tremendous fighting skills to capture the hearts of the casual fans too. Jake won the the welterweight title of that organization. He beat Nick Thompson in the first round via Guillotine Choke.
Fighting Georges St. Pierre is Shields dream match, but that isn't likely to happen any time soon. Shields would love to fight in the UFC. He says he has a ton of respect for the UFC, Dana White, and the Fertittas.
Shields also says now that Elite XC is history, the fight is something that could happen in the future.
Like other top ranked welterweights, Jake Shields' bread and butter lies with his grappling skills.
When Jake was ten years old he joined a wrestling team and after graduating high school he won a scholarship to Cuesta College to train and fight on their wrestling squad.
As luck would have it his wrestling coach was Jerimiah Miller and he trained with Chuck Liddell at the SLO kickboxing Academy. Jake tagged along and eventually made his pro debut in 1999 by defeating Paul Harrison.
He continued to improve on the kickboxing skills he picked up from Chuck Liddell, by cross-training with the professional Muay Thai kickboxing team at the Fairtex combat Academy. Jake trained with the likes of Muay Thai champions Jongsanan Fairtex and Alex Gong.
He was awarded the rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Ceasar Gracie in February 2007.
Shields won the Welter-Weight title in the Rumble on the Rock competition in '06 with wins over Dave Menne and Yushin Okami. He beat Carlos Condit in the finals.
Shields is currently on a 10 fight winning streak, finishing his last five opponents in the first round.
Jake had been the head instructor of BJJ (Brazilian jiu jitsu) and MMA at the Fairtex-Gracie affiliate in SF-California from March 2002 until April 2008.
Jake is now in partnership and teaches at Freestyle Submission Academy.
Now that the Elite XC organization is gone who knows whether he will get picked up by the UFC or some other lucky organization. One thing is for sure, Jake will have no trouble finding work.
...."RUMBLE YOUNG MAN RUMBLE"!!(Muhammad Ali)
We're going to send you the most entertaining MMA articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
26 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete