Tag: Jake Shields

Jake Shields on Beating Kampmann, UFC Title Shot, Facing GSP and More

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, interviewAfter over a decade winning titles around the world, Jake Shields finally made a trip down the aisle to the octagon at last Saturday night’s UFC 121. Squaring off against the underrated Martin Kampmann, Sh…

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After over a decade winning titles around the world, Jake Shields finally made a trip down the aisle to the octagon at last Saturday night’s UFC 121. Squaring off against the underrated Martin Kampmann, Shields held off a major scare before prevailing via split decision in the night’s co-main event.

With the win, Shields is likely to finally get a crack at UFC gold when he faces the winner of December’s Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck welterweight title match in 2011.

Shields spoke to MMA Fighting about the victory, weight issues and back problems, the possibility of bringing his Cesar Gracie teammates to UFC , and the prospect of facing St. Pierre on enemy territory.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 121

Filed under: UFCThe last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same b…

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The last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same boring old rides they came in, but after that furious four-minute main event I guarantee you no one was complaining.

But UFC 121 gave us more to talk about than just the main event. All across the undercard careers were being salvaged and lost, and at least one fighter managed to leave the Octagon victorious but still riding a wave of boos.

Let’s break it all down and look at our big winners, losers, and everything in between.

Matt Hughes: UFC Needs a Fighter to Balance Joe Rogan

Filed under: MMA Media Watch, UFCIn almost every television broadcast of almost every sport, one of the commentators is an athlete who has competed in the sport being shown. You never watch an NFL game without hearing analysis from a former football pl…

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In almost every television broadcast of almost every sport, one of the commentators is an athlete who has competed in the sport being shown. You never watch an NFL game without hearing analysis from a former football player, or a Major League Baseball game without hearing the voice of a former baseball player.

But in the UFC, the commentary role goes to Joe Rogan, who’s undeniably knowledgeable about MMA but whose background is in comedy and acting, not in fighting.

Matt Hughes says it’s time for the UFC to add a fighter to the broadcast.

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 121 Edition

(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121’s…

Jake Shields Martin Kampmann UFC 121
(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121‘s other winners and losers are yet to be determined. As usual, we have some brilliant suggestions…

Brock Lesnar: Assuming that nobody really wants to see a Lesnar vs. Mir rubber match, there are a surprising lack of options for the new ex-champ. If Roy Nelson beats Shane Carwin at UFC 125, Lesnar vs. Big Country would make perfect sense. (Lesnar vs. Carwin II is also an option for down the road, considering Carwin never felt like Brock beat him fair and square.) But at the moment, the best available opponent for Lesnar is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who’s coming off his own nasty loss to Velasquez. The fading Big Nog would likely take a beating, but the UFC needs to re-build their most bankable star against a credible name, and letting Lesnar whale on a legend is an effective way to do it.

Martin Kampmann: The first name that comes to mind is Dan Hardy, though the UFC probably wants to avoid the possibility of one of their British stars dropping three straight. So how ’bout this: Nate Diaz. The TUF 5 winner and moneyweight contender is facing Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125. If Diaz wins, Diaz vs. Kampmann is a great matchup between two guys who are on the same upper-middle region of the welterweight ladder. If Diaz gets outgrappled by DHK, then Kampmann gets a rebound against an "easier" opponent. Either way, it’s a scrap.

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UFC 121: Jake Shields Beats Martin Kampmann by Split Decision

Filed under: EliteXC, UFC, Strikeforce, NewsFormer EliteXC welterweight champion and Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields finally made his UFC debut on Saturday, and he barely escaped with a tough split decision win over Martin Kampmann at UF…

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Former EliteXC welterweight champion and Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields finally made his UFC debut on Saturday, and he barely escaped with a tough split decision win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 121.

It was a tough, back-and-forth fight that could have easily gone either way, but two judges scored it for Shields, 30-27 and 29-28. One judge scored it for Kampmann, 29-28.

Although the bout was hyped as Shields’ chance to earn a shot at the UFC welterweight title, he probably wasn’t impressive enough to justify a title shot. A fight between Shields and Jon Fitch would make a lot of sense next.

Velasquez Downs Lesnar for Heavyweight Title; Shields Earns Title Shot at UFC 121

Filed under: UFCANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fan…

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ANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fans at the Honda Center on Saturday night.

It may have been a relatively brief affair, but what it lacked in length it more than made up for in intensity.

Lesnar set the pace right away. As soon as the bout began, the champion took one step directly to the side and then charged across the cage at Velasquez, bringing all of his 264 pounds crashing directly into the challenger.