Jake Shields Looking For Resurgence As A Middleweight But Open To Both Weightlcasses

[No More Sorrow]

Jake Shields has had mixed success in his UFC career but things seem to be looking up for him after the win at UFC 144 where he won a decision against former Middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama in the Welterweight division. Shields who has previously competed at Middleweight and was the Strikeforce Middleweight champion beating Mayhem Miller for the title and a successful defence against Dan Henderson, Shields in a recent interview with mmajunkie discusses his future.

“I’m willing to fight at either weight, so whatever they offer me, I’ll take it,â€




“I really feel like I’m in the middle,†he said. “I hate cutting weight down to 170; I feel like the last couple of pounds, I feel a little bit weaker. But I’m a little bit small for 185.




“Really, I’d be perfect for the weight in the middle, but unfortunately, there’s not (that option). I haven’t figured out which way to go.â€




“I really want to fight the top guys,†Shields said. “Obviously, Anderson Silva being at the top, that’s what I want. Unfortunately, some of the very best guys at that weight are my friends. Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping are two of the very best. But I guess it comes down to business. Sometimes, you’ve got to fight your friends.â€




“They’re both top-five, and I want to fight top-five opponents,†he said. “So it’s definitely an unfortunate situation. But if I’m at the weight, I want to beat the best.â€




Where do you see Shields future at do you think he would be able to make a run at the Welterweight title ? Or do you think he would fair better in the Middleweight division where he may get to a title shot faster if he gets some wins under his belt?

Think he should just make the move to MW. He's been a champion at that weight class before and i just don't like how he's fought at WW.

 

[Slim]

I've always wondered why he stuck around at WW after the GSP fight. He was a middleweight star. He was undefeated for 15 fights. He even beat a good Dan Henderson after gettin nailed with that right hand. Shields could make a huge wrinkle in MW and help it out. But his striking is not up to par and his takedowns aren't that good either. He'd need to get them down to truly be at an advantage cause he is a very very very top level bjj fighter.

 

[Troy]

Can't stand the guy and I think that he has been very lucky with decisions so far in his UFC career, in my opinion he should be 0-4 rather than 2-2 in UFC. In saying that I think he should fight at the division where he has had the most success which is at Middleweight.