Jake Shields suffered his second straight loss last night after winning his previous 15 bouts to welterweight up and comer Jake Ellenberger. UFN 25 last night was Shields’ first return to action since losing his welterweight title shot to current champion Georges St-Pierre.
This fight meant a lot to Shields not just because he wanted to get back in the win column, but because of the unfortunate and heart wrenching loss of his Father and manager Jack Shields just a few short weeks ago
Having spoke with Shields this week prior to the Battle on the Bayou, one gets the impression that he will bounce back from the loss.
Hopefully, he takes some time off now to fully grieve the loss of his father, spend time with his family and rebuild himself for his next fight.
Credit must be given to Ellenberger, who looked very sharp last night, landing a beautiful a knee from the clinch that dropped the former Strikeforce champion and spelled the beginning of the end and the first time Shields had been stopped in over 11 years and 33 fights.
Ellenberger seems to be positioning himself for his own title shot, and with one more win over a top 10 opponent, he just might get his wish. That being said, with the way things have shaken out for guys after fighting St-Pierre, Ellenberger may want to cross his fingers and hope that he gets his shot against Condit instead of St-Pierre.
I’m not one to believe in curses, but when you look at the careers of the opponents that have faced St-Pierre since he took back the welterweight title from Matt Serra back in April 2008, most have struggled to get back on track.
Let’s have a look at the former foes of St-Pierre and how their careers have gone since losing to the champion.