Coming off his first loss in fifteen fights to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, Jake Shields will headline the main card at UFC Fight Night 25 against welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger on September 17.
The bout provides some intrigue to the event, however Ellenberger was not the first challenger who Shields would expected to face.
“I fight whoever they tell me, but when they asked me (to fight) Ellenberger, my first reaction was I want to fight someone like B.J. or Fitch,” Shields told MMAWeekly Radio.
Considering Shields status in the welterweight division, it’d be hard to not slot the former Strikeforce Middleweight champion in a bout against a top contender. While holding victories over Carlos Condit, Dan Henderson and Yushin Okami, it be even harder to sell a Shields fight without a top contender.
However, Shields put the company before himself and decided to accept the bout.
“I’m willing to fight whoever they want. I’m not one to say no, especially if it’s a main event. So I said, ‘sure, I’ll do it.’ But I was hoping to fight Fitch on the San Jose card,” he said.
Ideally, however, it won’t hurt Shields to be put in the main event for a second consecutive fight. It certainly will build his image and help propel him back into welterweight contention. But first, he will have to get past Ellenberger, an opponent who he admittedly knows nothing about, but understands he will be a durable challenge.
“He looks like a tough wrestler with pretty good boxing,” he explained. “So, he’s just a basic tough guy, you know. Definitely not taking him lightly,” Shields said of his opponent.
“He’s got a lot of power, so he’s got good knockout power, but I think he’s lacking in his jiu-jitsu, my strength.”
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