Jake Shields recently spoke about how he would love the opportunity to throwdown with UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva in the not too distant future.
“That’s a fight I’ve wanted for a long time. Anderson’s a phenomenal fighter, one of the best of all time, but I just think stylistically the guys that match up best against him are wrestlers with good jiu-jitsu. Chael did great with him until he got caught in a triangle right at the end. His worst matchup’s against good wrestlers and jiu-jitsu, and it’s just he’s a great matchup. Obviously it wouldn’t be an easy fight because I think he has the best standup in the sport, but that’s a fight I would love an opportunity to do,” Shields told MMAfightcorner.com.
Truth be told, “The Spider” has most definitely had problems with wrestlers in the past—from Dan Henderson to Chael Sonnen, who was just a whisker away from being crowned the division’s new champ.
In addition, Silva has succumbed to jiu-jitsu practitioners—Daiju Takase (triangle choke) and Ryo Chonan (flying heel hook).
Still, the last time The Spider was submitted was almost seven years ago, and his only other loss following the Chonan submission was against Yushin Okami via illegal kick.
And that was back in January of 2006.
Since then, Silva has amassed a 15-fight winning streak. He also captured the middleweight crown along the way, and at present, has defended it a record nine times.
During that time, he’s taken on the best of the best, and regardless of their all-around capabilities, no combatant as of yet has been able to decipher the enigma that is Anderson Silva.
It will be no different with Shields. Sure, he has the jiu-jitsu and wrestling pedigree to unsettle Silva, but as The Spider has shown time and again, he has that innate ability to overcome any and all adversity.
If Shields takes the fight to the ground, there’s always the likelihood that he himself might be the victim of a submission as was nearly the case with Jason “Mayhem” Miller at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.
And if the fight were to remain standing, then it’d be good night, sayonara—Shields doesn’t possess the striking savvy to generate any sort of impact on Silva.
MMA in general is the most unpredictable of sports, though in this case, Shields doesn’t stand a chance of upending Silva.
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