Jake Shields promised we’d see the “real” Jake Shields tonight. What we got was a three round plodding decision. You be the judge.
Herman opened the fight with effective punching, then initiated the clinch. The rest of the round was spent mainly in a clinch war, with Herman maintaining positional control for the majority of the round.
The second round saw Shields take it to the ground early and retain positional control, but not land much in the way of effective damage nor be able to advance his position for very long. Most of the round was spent with Shields in Herman’s guard and Herman defending well. Nevertheless, Shields retained top position which is what seems to matter most to the judges.
Herman scored an early takedown in the third, but Shields was able to get back up and score a takedown of his own. Shields was again able to maintain top position, although Herman was looking more aggressive from the bottom. The horn ends and the Denver faithful were clearly unimpressed.
Jake Shields:
“Ed Herman is a tough underrated guy and I’m really happy to go in there and get the win. To be honest I was getting a little tired in there from the altitude so I had to slow my pace down and I couldn’t fight the way I had planned to. In hind sight I needed to get here earlier to acclimate but that’s how you learn.”
Ed Herman:
“I really should’ve tried harder to get inside and score points. I feel like I let the fans and the UFC down… I feel like I let everyone down. I’m really confident in the clinch and with my dirty boxing but I had a really hard time keeping the space and getting my punches off. My game plan was to wear him down in the first and then work my punches from the outside in the second and third but he has a way of lulling you into the clinch.”
