Jake Shields - Greatest MMA Champion of All Time

True to his words Jake Shields learned different combat styles ranging from wrestling, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and mixed martial arts. He aspires to learn from others and inspires others to learn from him. He is now teaching his unique “American Jiu-Jitsu” techniques to the world.

Jake Shields, the greatest American MMA fighter, was born on January 9, 1979. Shields was raised near Mountain Ranch, California in the Sierra Nevada. He was home-schooled till junior high and didn’t enjoy conventional social opportunities; hence led to an isolated childhood. Shields shared a bond with his older brothers’ friends. With his gang, Shields relished adventure and discovered his love for mountain biking, wild caving, snowboarding, climbing mountains, and wrestling.

Later in life, he realized his love for a vegetarian diet. He explained to the Bleacher Report:

Fond of wrestling, Shields’ amateur wrestling career began at the tender age of nine. He proved himself in various competitions and became a four-year varsity wrestler at Calaveras High School. Furthermore, he finished 2nd place at the Amateur Athletic Union National Freestyle Championship.

Qualifying for the USA Nationals, FILA Nationals, and World Team Trials were additional achievements under his belt. In 1997, Shields secured 4th place in the California JC State Tournament (80 kg weight division). In 1998, he won 3rd place in the same tournament in a different weight class (89 kg division).

The year 1999 marked the beginning of Shields’ mixed martial arts career when he learned kickboxing at the SLO Kickboxing Academy in San Luis Obispo, California. At this fateful place, he met Chuck Lidell and picked up some magical kickboxing skills to work on.

An injured teammate was all it took for Shields to fight his first MMA match at 185 lbs. He then proceeded to fight five more fights in this weight division.

These victories helped Shields decide to pursue a glorious career in mixed martial arts. 

Everything Shields learned from wrestling helped him through every rite of passage. His skills opened the doors to San Francisco State University, where he was awarded a wrestling scholarship. 

After developing strong wrestling skills and being exposed to mixed martial arts Shields ventured into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and began training with the Cesar Gracie Team.

As expected, he made immense progress in the sport.

The Cesar Gracie Fight Team provided guidance and life-altering friendships. Consequently, Shields formed a strong bond with Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz.

In 2005, he participated in the highest level jiu-jitsu competitions, the ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship, and the Pan American Championship, bringing home a bronze and gold medal.

Shields did justice to every martial art he aimed to learn and master. While fighting and learning jiu-jitsu, he continued to train in kickboxing. For this purpose, he joined a team of professionals at the Fairtex Combat Academy and trained with Muay Thai champions Jongsanan Fairtex and Alex Gong.

In 2007, Jake Shields was promoted to a black belt by Cesar Gracie.

Shields’ striking victories at the Shooto World Mixed Martial Arts Championship and the Rumble of the Rock World Championship earned him the current status of MMA Champion.

In 1999, Shields fought his first MMA fight against Paul Harrison at CFF: The Cobra Qualifier 1999. He won the fight by knockout (TKO punches). He continued to compete in small promotional events till the next big competition came along.

In 2007, Shields signed a contract with Elite XC. His first fight was against Renato Verissimo, an opponent who could not withstand Shields’ powerful TKO punches and elbows.

After Verissimo, Shields defeated Mike Pyle with a brilliant rear-naked choke at Elite XC: Renegade. The next fight against Nick Thompson was yet another win for Shields at Elite XC: Unfinished Business. After he finished Thompson with a guillotine choke, Shields proceeded to successfully defend his title at Elite XC: Heat against Paul Daley.

At Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers, Shields competed for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Cung Le had stepped down and his decision created a momentous opportunity for Shields to claim the title after submitting Jason Miller via unanimous decision. He successfully defended his title against Dan Henderson and later stepped down to switch to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Shields’ skills prevailed in his debut fight at UFC 121. He secured a win against Martin Kampmann with a split decision. At UFC 129, he lost the match to the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre via unanimous decision. After six more UFC fights, Shields moved on to the World Series of Fighting (WSOF).

In 2011, Shields suffered a major UFC TKO defeat at the hands of Jake Ellenberger. Ellenberger started the fight with an uppercut and threw Shields to the ground. Shields went for a takedown that Ellenberger easily defended. Ellenberger then repeatedly punched Shields as he lay on the ground. The referee quickly interfered to save Shields from the violent attack. As a result, the fight was brought to an abrupt end and Ellenberger was declared the winner.

Jake Shields won his MMA debut at WSOF 14 by subduing Ryan Ford with a rear-naked choke. After some time, WSOF rebranded as Professional Fighters League (PFL).

Shields’ first fight at PFL: Everett was against Danny Davis Jr., winning via unanimous decision.

Though Shields had already won his debut fight, he was still considered a newcomer at the Elite XC. The pressure to win was staggering. He entered and faced Nick Thompson with unwavering confidence.

He demonstrated excellent submission skills to tackle his opponent and won the third consecutive fight of the promotion.

Shields has fought stunning battles but his fight against Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields in 2009 was hands down the best ever.

Lawler didn’t make it easy for Shields. In the beginning, it seemed that he had control of the match. However, Shields quickly turned the tables; he pulled guard and finished Lawler with a lethal guillotine choke.

In 2013, Jake Shields faced off against Tyron Woodley at the UFC 161 event; a challenging bout arranged by the lucrative UFC promotion. The two martial artists entered the octagon to strike, grapple, dominate and submit. The match lasted for three complete rounds. At the end of the third round, Shields won the match via split decision.

From 2002 to 2008, Shields remained the head instructor of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) at the Fairtex-Gracie affiliate academy in San Francisco.

Inspired by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jake Shields invented American Jiu-Jitsu. Ths combat style is a combination of self-defense-oriented, traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and aggressive transitions used in wrestling.

• USA Wrestling
• Qualified for FILA Junior World Team Trials.
• Qualified for FILA University World Team Trials.
• Amateur Athletic Union
• Secured 2nd place in Freestyle National Wrestling Championship.
• California Community College Athletic Association

• California Interscholastic Federation

• Pan American Championship
• ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship
• Fight 2 Win Championship
• International Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Championship
• Polaris Pro
• Grapplers Quest

• Elite Xtreme Combat
• Professional Shooto Japan
• Strikeforce
• Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Championship

• ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship
• Pan American Championship
• F2W Championship

Event	Year	Medal/ Record
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship	2005	1 Bronze Medal
Pan American Championship	2005	1 Gold Medal

• He won the Fight 2 Win (FTW) Middleweight Championship once.

• He won the Pan American Championship once.

• He secured 3rd Place in ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship

• He won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship once.

• He won the Elite Xtreme Combat Welterweight Championship once.

• He won the Professional Shooto Japan Welterweight Championship once.

• He won the Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Tournament once.

• Jake Shields’s Worldwide MMA Rankings

Jake Shields vs AJ Agazarm

Jake Shields vs Jon Fitch

Jake Shields vs Tyron Woodley

Jake Shields vs Jake Ellenberger

Photo Credit: @jakeshields