UFC 129 Fight Card: Why Jake Shields Is the Biggest Threat to GSP's Title

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields has sat in the shadows for a long time.

While UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was basking in the mainstream spotlight, Shields has been competing in multiple organizations all over the world and gaining the respect of hardcore fans.

The UFC 129 promo does this fight justice. Shields watched from the sidelines as St-Pierre grew to become the face of the sport. Along with numerous endorsements and television appearances, the French Canadian is also featured on the covers of magazines.

Shields has fought at a professional level longer than St-Pierre, and competing against world-class opposition, he hasn't lost a fight in over six years. His long résumé include names like Dan Henderson, Yushin Okami, Martin Kampmann, and Carlos Condit.

Shields has done things in the sport that St-Pierre has yet to even accomplish. In April 2010, he moved up to middleweight and dominated MMA legend Dan Henderson for the Strikeforce 185-pound title.

With all of these accomplishments, most casual fans don't even know who Shields is, which is testament to the UFC's power as the world's leading MMA organization

The chance has finally come for Shields to step from beyond the shadows and prove his placement atop the welterweight division.

It won't be easy. There is no mirage surrounding St-Pierre's dominance. He is arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. Fans generally hear the same thing every time out.

"This guy is St-Pierre's biggest threat."

St-Pierre feeds the mantra by announcing every opponent as the toughest fight of his career, and he's absolutely right. The next fight is always your biggest.

What makes Shields so different from the others that have fallen? How is he possibly a bigger threat than B.J. Penn, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves?

All of the talk leading up to this fight has been about Shields presenting St-Pierre with his greatest submission threat, but some have ignored the intangibles of this world-class matchup.

Shields is a winner, and despite the odds, he always comes out on top. Other than the submission game, St-Pierre has a definitive advantage in just about every area of this fight, but Shields maintains an undying belief that he will somehow walk out of UFC 129 with the welterweight title.

St-Pierre and Shields have a lot in common in regards to the mental part of fighting. Both fighters are intellectuals, and you never really see them take unnecessary risks. They are always methodical in their approach and rarely deviate from preplanned strategies.

Despite St-Pierre's wrestling prowess, Shields, an accomplished wrestler in his own right, will constantly work to get this fight to the ground. If St-Pierre puts Shields on his back, the fight could play into Shields' favor.

He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Cesar Gracie, and his credentials include a bronze medal in the 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.

The fact that Shields has won 15 consecutive MMA bouts is unheard of in the sport. Fans will likely criticize his past performances, but no one can dispute the outcomes. Even as a massive underdog, Shields continues to find a way to win.

The mental aspect of fighting is just as important as the physical, and Shields presents St-Pierre with an incredible mental test.

Will that be enough to dethrone one of the most beloved and dominant champions in MMA history?

It'll be a tall mountain to climb, but as the saying goes, anything can happen.