Jake Shields
Shields was one of the most decorated champions outside of the UFC for many years, having previously held titles in Shooto, Rumble In The Rock, Elite XC, and Strikeforce.
He defeated some major players to win and defend those titles, including the likes of Carlos Condit, Paul Daley, Jason ‘Mayem’ Miller, and Dan Henderson. He had other notable wins against Robbie Lawler, Mike Pyle, and Yushin Okami. In 2011, Shields joined the UFC. His 14-fight unbeaten stretch almost came to an end in his debut when Martin Kampmann took him to a razor-thin split decision.
Still, a win is a win. A dream fight with Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title followed. GSP would emerge a convincing winner by unanimous decision. Shields’ attempt to rebound against Jake Ellenberger ended in disaster with a 53-second TKO loss. He did then pick up a win against Yoshihiro Akiyama. A subsequent victory over Ed Herman was tarnished when it emerged Shield’s had tested positive for a banned substance, leading to a no contest and a suspension. To his credit, Shields did rebound with good wins over Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, but a loss to Hector Lombard signaled an end to his UFC run, bowing out with a 3-3 (1 NC) record.
