UFC 150 Preview: Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Jake Shields makes his return to the middleweight division against Ed Herman. If you haven't heard of Ed Herman before, he's sure to leave a lasting impression inside the Octagon.

Shields is coming in fresh off of a win against Yoshihiro Akiyama at welterweight in a fight where he put his grappling prowess on display. He's back at middleweight where he last held a title in Strikeforce. Herman is riding a three fight win streak into this one and is looking to put himself into title contention with a big win over his most dangerous opponent yet.

So on paper who has the edge? And who's the smart money on to win this fight? In this slideshow we'll tackle those questions and get you ready for Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman.

Tale of the Tape

	Shields	Herman
Record	27-6	20-7
Height	6'0"	6'2"
Reach	72"	75"
Age	33	31
Avg. Fight Time	10:52	7:46
Finishing %	48%	90%

Striking

Every fight starts standing up with striking exchanges. With that being said, Short Fuse will enjoy his main advantage shortly after the Octagon door closes.

Herman lands 52 percent of his strikes and successfully defends 43 percent of strikes. Jake Shields is successful on only 37 percent of strikes but defends 58 percent.

However, where the true advantage lies is in power. In 34 fights, Shields has only three fights stopped due to strikes and hasn't had a TKO victory in five years. In 27 fights for Herman, six have been stopped due to strikes.

Advantage: Herman

Grappling

If this fight hits the ground, it's going to get fun really fast.

Both men are black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and have a combined 22 submission victories. Shields is more patient with his submission attack while Herman is more aggressive—looking for submissions early and often.

When it comes to the numbers, Shields averages 3.62 takedowns per 15 minutes while Herman averages 4.18 over the same time frame. Herman completes takedowns at a 53 percent clip and stops 70 percent of his opponents attempts while Shields only stops 40 percent of his opponents takedowns and completes 38 percent.

With that said, the numbers don't show competition. Herman hasn't competed against the likes of Dan Henderson and Georges St. Pierre which would put a damper onto anybody's grappling numbers. It's close as to who has the advantage, but one thing is for sure and it's that when it does hit the ground, it's going to be fun.

Advantage: Shields

Keys to Victory

Shields

1. Needs to complete takedowns and secure control
2. Compete in the striking exchanges and make Herman tentative on his feet
3. Use multiple level changes to keep Herman guessing

Herman

1. Keep the fight standing with his superior takedown defense
2. Utilize diverse striking to keep Shields off balance
3. Be aggressive when looking for submissions

Prediction

When Bruce Buffer reads off the official scorecards, Ed Herman will be the victor.

This should be a battle of who can get the first takedown, then who can get control once it does go to the ground. In the end these two BJJ practitioners should be able to put on a grappling show, complete with many near submissions.

There's a good chance that there won't be a finish in this match, but when the smoke clears we'll have a new guy "in the mix" at 185 pounds, and his name is Ed Herman.