بیوگرافی
Jake Shield was home-schooled and raised in Mountain Ranch, a remote area of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the child of hippie parents, Jake had long hair, which made him a frequent target of other kids, leading to fights. Alongside his older brothers, Shields engaged in caving, mountain biking, and snowboarding. At age 9, Shields began competing in sports and took up wrestling, following in his brothers' footsteps. While attending Calaveras High School, Shields competed in the Amateur Athletic Union National Freestyle Championships and later qualified for the U.S.A./Fila Nationals & World Team Trials in various divisions. Shields became a two-time All American at Cuesta College.
In September 1999, while at Cuesta College, Shields started MMA training at the SLO Kickboxing Academy after meeting its owner, Chuck Liddell, who encouraged him to try the sport. A month later, due to an injured teammate, Shields, a natural welterweight, competed at middleweight in his first professional MMA fight. As a spectator at a California Cobra Fighting Federation (CCFF) event, he offered to fill a vacant spot. In his debut MMA bout, he defeated Paul Harrison by first-round TKO. In his second CCFF fight, he won by unanimous decision. Shields suffered his first defeat in his third bout against Marty Armendarez by technical knockout in the International Fighting Championships (IFC). Two months later, Shields secured a victory over Shannon Ritch by choke submission. His return to IFC was unsuccessful, as he lost unanimously to Phillip Miller. Shields earned a wrestling scholarship to attend San Francisco State University. In 2001, he relocated to San Luis Obispo to attend the university and joined Cesar Gracie's gym nearby. His time at Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu is credited for developing his grappling skills, leading him to compete in notable grappling tournaments such as the Pan American, Grapplers Quest, Pan Am Submission, and Abu Dhabi Combat Club alongside his MMA career. Shields holds grappling competition wins over Jon Fitch, Vinny Magalhaes, and Diego Sanchez.
He won unanimously over Tracy Hess at Gladiator Challenge 3. At Gladiator Challenge 6, he submitted Jeremy Jackson with a rear-naked choke after two minutes. That same year, while attending university, Shields decided to pursue a career as an MMA fighter. He dropped weight to compete as a welterweight at Gladiator Challenge 6, defeating Robert Ferguson by decision. Shields' winning streak ended against Ray Cooper at Warriors Quest, losing by majority decision. Despite the loss, Shields was offered his biggest MMA fight at that time, traveling to Japan to face top-ranked Hayato Sakurai in Shooto. With just thirteen days to prepare, Shields suspected he had been brought in to lose to one of the promotion's top fighters. However, he used his wrestling to control Sakurai on the ground for much of the fight and won. In his next Shooto bout, he won unanimously over Milton Vieira and achieved similar success against Akira Kikuchi in his third Shooto fight. In a Pancrase appearance, Shields fought Kazuo Misaki to a draw. In his most decisive middleweight bout, he submitted Ray Cooper with a first-round rear-naked choke, winning the vacant Shooto Middleweight Championship. The event was promoted by Shooto Americas, a Shooto offshoot. His first title defense was against Akira Kikuchi, whom Shields had previously defeated in 2003. Kikuchi won their rematch by unanimous decision, becoming the new Shooto middleweight champion.
Following the loss to Kikuchi, an injury sidelined Shields for eleven months before he returned to secure a decision win over Toby Imada at Kage Kombat. Shields entered a Grand Prix to crown a welterweight champion at Rumble on the Rock 8, winning a quarterfinal bout over Dave Menne. At Rumble on the Rock 9, he defeated Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit by unanimous decisions to claim the Rumble on the Rock welterweight title. Shields never defended this title and next fought in Full Contact Promotions, defeating Steve Berger by second-round technical knockout. In early 2007, Shields fought Ray Steinbeiss in BodogFight, winning by guillotine choke submission in under 90 seconds. At the K-1 Hero's Dynamite!! USA event in June 2007, he faced Ido Pariente, taking him down early, striking, and securing a choke submission within two minutes. Around this time, Shields agreed to fight Frank Trigg, who was announcing for Pride Fighting Championships. Trigg, who had been critical of Shields, reneged and publicly dismissed any chance of a bout between them.
Shields signed a three-fight contract with EliteXC in 2007 and fought Renato Verissimo at Uprising, winning by technical knockout at four minutes. He then defeated Mike Pyle at Renegade, controlling the ground action and winning via rear-naked choke. Shields next faced Nick Thompson to crown the inaugural EliteXC welterweight champion at Episode 1.2 in 2008, quickly submitting Thompson with a one-handed guillotine choke in one minute. Paul Daley challenged Shields for the title at Episode 1.3, "Heat," where Shields defended successfully by armbar submission in the first round. "Heat" was the third and final EliteXC event aired on CBS. Later that month, the promotion closed permanently due to severe financial losses, leaving Shields and other fighters under contract and unable to compete elsewhere.
After EliteXC's closure, Shields' future was uncertain until March 2009, when Strikeforce, led by CEO Scott Coker, purchased the contracts of former EliteXC fighters, including Shields. Joe Riggs was initially slated as Shields' first Strikeforce opponent, but plans changed. In June 2009, Shields moved up to middleweight to face Robbie Lawler at a catchweight of 182 pounds in the main event of Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Lawler was aggressive and avoided Shields’ takedown attempts, but Shields connected with kicks and secured a guillotine choke submission on Lawler’s neck. After Cung Le vacated the Strikeforce middleweight title that September, Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller were named contenders for the vacant championship. They fought in November at CBS Strikeforce M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights. Shields controlled Miller on the ground for most of the fight and won by unanimous decision to become the Strikeforce middleweight champion.
Shields defended the title against Dan Henderson in the main event of CBS Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights in 2010, Strikeforce's second televised card on CBS. Henderson knocked Shields down early with a right hand, but Shields survived by attacking with a right leg lock and recovered to control Henderson on the ground for all five rounds, winning by unanimous decision. During an interview with Gus Johnson post-fight, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who had competed earlier on the card, interrupted to request a rematch with Shields. Shields pushed him, and his Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu teammates—Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, and Nate Diaz—joined in attacking Miller. The ensuing chaos, known as the "Strikeforce Brawl," raised concerns about the sport's image. Johnson resumed the interview, and Shields apologized for the incident.
That fight was Shields’ last contracted bout. UFC President Dana White capitalized on the perceived tension between Shields and Strikeforce to encourage Shields to sign with UFC, aiming to increase his value. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker expressed no intention of engaging in a bidding war for Shields. After an exclusive negotiating period ended with no agreement, Shields was released from his contractual obligations near the end of June and later negotiated a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
