Jake Shields made a successful return to the middleweight division by defeating Ed Herman by unanimous decision at UFC 150 on Saturday night. The former Strikeforce middleweight title holder didn’t seem to have any major problems with change in weight class en route to victory.
Upon moving to UFC, Shields immediately entered the welterweight championship picture and defeated Martin Kampmann to earn a title shot against Georges St-Pierre. He couldn’t capitalize, however, losing by unanimous decision.
After another loss against Jake Ellenberger and a relatively easy victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, Shields decided to shake things up and return to middleweight to face Herman. Based on his performance, it looks like he made the right choice.
Shields has always illustrated terrific versatility, so it’s no surprise he would be able to make a seamless transition from one division to another. For some fighters it’s a big deal, and for others it’s not. The California native falls into the latter category.
The win moves Shields’ career MMA record to 28-6-1, but a more mundane 3-2 mark since joining the sport’s most prominent promotion. He’ll need to improve that mark in order to get another title shot in either division.
He’s still one of the most talented fighters out there, and defeating Herman is a good indication that he’s getting back on track after those consecutive losses. Few fans will be surprised by that given how dominant he was in the past.
It’s hard to get a good read on what the loss means for Herman. He was in the midst of a three-fight winning streak with triumphs over Tim Credeur, Kyle Noke and Clifford Starks. But those competitors clearly aren’t on the same level as Shields.
Even though he would have liked to get a high-profile win under his belt on Saturday night, he’ll benefit from the experience of getting to face an accomplished star like Shields. Not just the fight itself, but everything before and after it as well.
He should be able to bounce back from this loss without much problem, knowing he was facing an uphill battle before it even began.
Shields was expected to emerge victorious, and he did. What each fighter does next will be the key for each of them as they look to move up the pecking order.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com