After UFC 124, One Thing Is Abundantly Clear, I Want No Parts of GSP Against Shields
by S.C. Michaelson on Dec 14, 2010 10:00 AM EST
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PrintOnce Jake Shields was signed to the UFC from Strikeforce, it was inevitable that he would be the next contender for Georges St. Pierre's Welterweight Title. His win over Martin Kampmann was basically made it a formality that he would be fighting for the title next, even though many were disappointed by his performance. Once GSP dominated Josh Koscheck last Saturday at UFC 124, the next UFC Welterweight title fight was set. Georges St. Pierre against former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields....and I couldn't give a damn.
GSP's performance on Saturday basically took away the small sliver of desire to see this fight. There was, in my eyes, a small chance that GSP could be beaten by Shields. Not anymore. Looking at this stylistically, Shields' best chance to win this fight is to submit GSP. Now, if he's going to do that, he needs to get GSP to the ground. St. Pierre is a better wrestler than Shields is so unless Jake pulls guard, he's not getting GSP to the ground. GSP knows that Shields is the first submission fighter he's faced (that was actually his size) in a long time, so the threat of being submitted is there and thus, he would not take Shields' down.
That means the fight would be contested mainly on the feet. To say Shields' standup is pedestrian would be very complimentary. We saw on Saturday that GSP will stand and use his jab efffectively. In Koscheck, he faced a fight that, while packing rudimentary stand-up skills, packed known KO power in the hands and feet. Shields, on the other hand, has worse standup and no known KO power. Therefore, GSP can afford to be more aggressive (heh) on the fight. In a standup battle, Shields is behind the 0-ball.
The fan interest in this match will be minimal. Jake Shields is a foreign entity who made his name in other promotions. The UFC, unlike with Rampage, Crocop, or Shogun, owns none of his footage. They don't have the ability to show his big wins or his highlights to the casual fans. His biggest win, over Dan Henderson, can't be used to showcase who he is. You can mention that he beat Dan Henderson til the cows come home, but humans are visual creatures. A fight with Shields could easily be one of the lesser GSP buyrates of the past few years. GSP is a strong brand and a great draw, but even great draws need compelling opponents. Shields isn't a trash-talker like Koscheck or Hardy or someone like a Penn who fans actually believe can beat GSP.
GSP and Shields just don't do it for me and UFC 124 clinched it. There's only one GSP fight I want to see.
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Go Shields! Go Veg!
Ehhhh . . . I’m still intrigued.
One, we know Shields can take a shot. Yes, despite surviving Dan Henderson’s 1st round scare I do think GSP would break Shields. But after watching Shields defeat Kampmann, I’m more intrigued to see Shields face GSP.
- We saw what Shields could do on a really bad day with a bad weight cut.
- Like I said, he can take a shot.
- Who else is ready to face GSP . . . I would say Martin Kampmann but he just makes way to many mistakes. Why did he stand with Daley when he could have subbed him easily?
Trash talkers.
One, we do not need a bad guy or trash talker to make a fight interesting all the time. Koscheck is a natural heel but didn’t have the balls to stay in character post-fight. Anybody that takes Dan Hardy’s antics seriously need to learn how to read between the lines. Hardy is simply having fun but yes, he’s entertaining. Penn? Read his book, you’ll get a better idea of who he is.
It’s freaking refreshing that Shields is simply Jake Shields. While his performances doesn’t necessarily inspire fight fans, I’m kind of glad we’ll get to see this match-up for the sport.
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VEe is ANIMated!
I did read his book. It was great.
Penn? Read his book, you’ll get a better idea of who he is.
I recommend it to any MMA fan.
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I’m also intrigued by Shields vs GSP. If Henderson couldn’t knock him out with his patented right hand, I honestly doubt GSP would have anything to knock him out either, short of a well placed left shin à la GSP/Hughes II.
And if, and it’s a huge if, Shields gets it to the ground, I’ll be really interested to see how GSP fares against his biggest test in terms of grapplers. None of GSP’s past opponents have anywhere near the combination of size/strenght and grappling know-how as Shields.
The problem for Shields will be getting it to the floor, and keeping it there. But if he did it to Henderson, although an old Henderson, I wouldn’t put it past him to do it to GSP too. At the very least, I’d like to see Shields give it all he’s got.
Intrigued might be a strong word, but I definitely want to see it. If I were Jake, I’d already be working out 10 different ways to get GSP down. By fight time, that’s all we’ll be thinking – when will it happen?, how will he get him down?, can he keep him down?, is he strong/fast/good enough? …
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I agree, not only Hendo but Lawler, Daley, etc have had their chance to stand with Jake and Lawler and Daley tapped out and Henderson was dominated.
Good wrestlers, good strikers have all gone down to Shields, top 10 since 2004, without a loss, winning four Championships in 2 weight classes. All three of the above won by first round KO a week ago.
Shields was happy with the outcome of the GSP/Koscheck fight for a couple reasons, he knows how he does against Kos and beating GSP now is an even bigger deal.
by tanglestrangle on Dec 15, 2010 2:01 PM EST up reply actions
Lesnar Draws w/o Compelling Opponents
and GSP will too. The hype train is just NOW starting in terms of mainstream acceptance. (ESPN, Gatorade, Under Armour) Look for his next fight to outpace the buys for this last event and perhaps rival some of the bigger UFC PPVs.
Lesnar is a much much much bigger star than GSP
He draws in spite of who he faces.
GSP fluctuates based on opponent. I think this PPV did a big number just based on the traffic we got.
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by S.C. Michaelson on Dec 14, 2010 2:59 PM EST up reply actions
I second SC’s hypothesis.
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Dec 14, 2010 3:53 PM EST up reply actions
- Some people felt that the huge internet buzz that “Snakes on the Plane” recieve would translate into box office dollars. The film failed financially.
- Some people thought that the buzz and small controversy created by Chael Sonnen, and the traffic he generated would translate into a huge PPV buyrate. People heralded Sonnen as being responsible increasing the PPV buys, blah, blah, blah. In the end, the card performed more or less like a regular Anderson Silva card.
I think this PPV did a big number just based on the traffic we got.
No. It simply doesn’t work like that.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Dec 15, 2010 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
Listen, there was a LOT of interest in this card in terms of internet searches and resulting web hits (searches done by casuals). It’s not a perfect science. We had by far the biggest number this year. More so than a Lesnar PPV. Does that mean 1.5 mil? No. But I do think it might have done 900K.
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by S.C. Michaelson on Dec 15, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions
The hype train is just NOW starting in terms of mainstream acceptance. (ESPN, Gatorade, Under Armour)
No, that’s just speculation. An running ad spot on ESPN, or a quick shot or two of GSP in a 30 second Gatorade-Under Armour or even freaking Budweiser doesn’t not indicate, guarantee or translate into an immediate PPV increase for his next fight. He would need a longer lasting television presence to make a permanent presence in the casual MMA/fight fan mind to make them purchase a PPV.
Not to mention, he’s not a “Chuck Liddell” type fighter. While he is the most dominant champion winning so many consecutive rounds, he doesn’t have a highlight reel filled with KO’s. People were drawn to Chuck because he had a strong visual identity and he knocked people-the-f*ck out. He did a lot for the sport without a huge WWE history, without many mainstream endorsements or cool ESPN ad spots.
Then again, I may be wrong and talking out of my ass.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Dec 15, 2010 9:53 AM EST up reply actions
I forgot to include this conclusion from the original statement.
Look for his next fight to outpace the buys for this last event and perhaps rival some of the bigger UFC PPVs.
In the end, the numbers will tell the truth. When you’re talking about outpace, my question is by how much, what percentage? Outpace is a strong word.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Dec 15, 2010 9:55 AM EST up reply actions
Actually...
I kinda want to see GSP smash Shields’ boring face. A lot of people wanted to see Koscheck put in his place but at least Koscheck will put in a theatrical performance to spice up his fights if the LayNPray isn’t doing it for the crowd. Jake Shields is the real in-cage villain, not Josh Koscheck.
"One thing I will never do is I will never say never." -Dana White
At this point, I think GSP should just get the "W" on his wikipedia page and we can all just move on.
No need for them to fight.
That was definitely my reaction, as well, but it looks like it’s happening regardless of what any of us think. Taking ALL of Shields’s talents into account, GSP dominates this fight…
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by CSC Memorabilia on Dec 14, 2010 10:36 PM EST reply actions
Sheilds doesn't make it past round 3 with GSP
And this is coming from a guy indifferent to Boss Canada.
There is no fear of ko power and Jakes only hope is to complete a single leg and ride top position. Even if he can get Georges down I doubt he can keep him down.
GSP should be able to pick him apart while stifling takedowns before laying down the big kabosh.
Also Sheilds is not invincible on the ground, Mayhem damn near choked him out ffs. If Georges can stun/rock him and take his back early in the fight he may get his first finish in years. And we can finally get GSP vs Silva
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