By the Numbers: Jake Shields
Despite the loss to Ray Cooper III, Jake Shields is still a strong contender in the Professional Fighters League. He is, after all, a former multiple world titleholder with notable wins over some of the best in the division. The loss may not have done much to hurt his reputation but he needs to win his next fight to stay relevant in the league.
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9: Years old when he started to train in wrestling. He competed in various styles, including folk, freestyle and submission wrestling.
20: Years of age when he first tried his hand at mixed martial
arts, joining Chuck
Liddell’s SLO Kickboxing Academy. After only a few weeks, he
entered in his first MMA competition as replacement for an injured
teammate.
4: Championships to his name. He captured the Shooto welterweight title by submitting Ray Cooper and the Rumble on the Rock welterweight belt by decisioning Carlos Condit. He is the only EliteXC welterweight champion, having submitted Nick Thompson. After a successful first title defense against Paul Daley, the promotion was dissolved and Shields moved to Strikeforce as a middleweight. It didn’t take long until he fought for and won the vacant title over Jason Miller. He later challenged Georges St. Pierre for the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight strap.
82: Significant strikes as opposed to Tyron Woodley’s 60, per Fightmetric. It was a tightly-contested match he won by split decision.
4: Takedowns on Dan Henderson when they fought at Strikeforce: Nashville. He practically shut down the former Pride Fighting Championships vet with suffocating ground control and tight positioning.
5: Takedowns scored on Carlos Condit. The fight was closer on the feet as Shields tallied 30 significant strikes while Condit connected with 27.
2: Minutes and 2 seconds was all he needed to stop former UFC welterweight king Robbie Lawler by guillotine choke. The victory was part of his 15-fight winning run that ended after his title fight with St. Pierre.
12: Wins by submission. The grappling wizard tapped Shannon Ritch, Randy Velarde, Jeremy Jackson, Ray Cooper, Ray Steinbeiss, Ido Pariente, Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, Ray Ford and Brian Foster.
4: Current or former UFC champions faced. He defeated former interim welterweight champion Condit, choked out Lawler, decisioned Woodley and lost to St. Pierre in a hard-fought five round battle.
10: Losses in his career. Shields bowed to Marty Armendarez, Phillip Miller, Cooper, Akira Kikuchi, St. Pierre, Jake Ellenberger, Hector Lombard, Rousimar Palhares, Jon Fitch and Cooper III.
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