Notorious for his limited striking ability, Jake Shields nonetheless possesses dangerous ground skills, and if he could find a way to control Georges St. Pierre on the ground, he would have a shot at taking GSP’s UFC Welterweight Championship.
He would get the opportunity to try at UFC 129, in which he would fight in front of St. Pierre’s home Canadian crowd. Georges St. Pierre has made it impossible for fighters to even get a minor advantage in his last several bouts, so finding a way to ground and submit St. Pierre would be no easy task.
But, if he could do so, Shields would return to America the champion of what has become one of mixed martial arts’ most competitive worldwide divisions.
The result follows:
Georges St. Pierre b. Jake Shields via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
Story of the fight:
Shields never had an opportunity to put much forth in terms of a wrestling attack, but the moments in which he did get control of GSP’s leg or torso went virtually nowhere. He simply had neither the strength, speed nor wrestling control to bring the action to his desired location.
That meant staying on the feet, and for much of the first three rounds, that meant an advantage for GSP. St. Pierre was not doing significant damage–most of his offense was reduced to a jab–but he was still faring well at picking apart his opponent from a technical standpoint. He did, on multiple occasions, also manage to stumble his opponent. Still, critics of GSP’s finishing ability would not have been convinced they were wrong–his aggression and power were nothing special here.
During round three, a punch from Shields seemed to cause trouble in GSP’s left eye. GSP pushed through the issue and even scored a takedown of his own, but it added another layer of concern for GSP who already seemed reluctant to riskily engage with haymakers. He confirmed to his corner after the round that he could not see with his left eye.
After a slow start in the fourth round, GSP started to find his range again; he event dropped Shields with a high kick. Shields, however, stayed with it, and began taunting GSP (similar to his teammates Nick and Nate Diaz) to hopefully frustrate the poised champion. Nothing much came of this for Shields, although Shields’ punches were doing enough to bloody the champion.
Round five was a fairly uneventful round. Even aware of the urgency, Shields would never commit without caution, and a hurt GSP was primarily counter-striking.
Georges St. Pierre clearly won the fight, but of his recent victories, this is one that will definitely come under criticism. Considering he made it impossible for Shields to, frankly, even consider taking the fight to the ground, his lack of lasting damage and aggression on the feet was disappointing.
At the same time, going into this fight, St. Pierre knew Shields was dangerous on the ground, so he undoubtedly approached this fight thinking he would have to be more cautious and patient in his striking attack. The fact that Shields happened to be a bit more competent-than-expected with boxing, and the fact that GSP’s left eye went out, worked together to limit what aggression St. Pierre could bring to the table, even after it seemed like Shields stopped thinking about a ground attack.
In essence, it is fair to criticize St. Pierre’s finishing ability, but there are good reasons why one should not treat his failure to light up Shields on the feet as proof that he could not handle a top-level striker.
