Under the Microscope: Analyzing Welterweight Greats

No one can argue with Jake Shield’s run of sustained success. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

Jake Shields

* Welterweight Record: 17-4-1 (.795)
* Opponent Winning Percentage: .766
* Longest Winning Streak: 15
* Record in Major Welterweight Title Fights: 3-2
* Finish Percentage: 41.2
* Finished Percentage: 25
* Notable Victories: Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley, Martin Kampmann, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Dave Menne
* Career Accomplishments: Former EliteXC welterweight champion, with one title defense; former Shooto welterweight champion; 2006 Rumble on the Rock welterweight tournament winner

CASE FOR: Shields has been a perennial top-10 welterweight for nearly a decade. At the core of his success is his six-year, 15-fight winning streak that saw him win the 2006 Rumble on the Rock welterweight tournament -- he defeated Okami and Condit on the same night -- and the EliteXC welterweight championship. While on that streak, Shields had one of the strongest schedules of anyone on this list, making it arguably the most impressive run in the division’s history. Fighting professionally since before Y2K, Shields has been finished only once on the big stage, cementing his reputation as one of the toughest welterweights around. Now that he is slated to vie for the World Series of Fighting welterweight crown, he has the chance to add another piece of hardware to his legacy and another supporting argument for his claim as the greatest of all-time.

CASE AGAINST: There is no question that the man can get it done on the biggest stage, but there are plenty of questions about his ability to sustain dominance at this point. Specifically, Shields has undergone very little evolution as a fighter throughout his career, and it showed against George St. Pierre; when he is not able to get into his world of grappling, he is a woefully ineffective fighter. That sort of reliance on a single dimension of MMA flatly loses out when compared with other all-time greats. The major obstacle for Shields now is the ticking of the clock. At 36 years of age -- 16 of those years have been spent in professional competition -- time is not doing him any favors. The WSOF title may be the last legitimate championship he will have the opportunity to win.

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