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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Jake Shields came into Saturday's Strikeforce: Nashville event on CBS as a major underdog to Dan Henderson despite being the defending Champion, and for the first round it looked like things were going to go as expected.
Henderson rocked Shields with an overhand right that dropped the Champ to the canvas, but as he dropped down to deliver more punishment, Shields was able to recover as he looked for a leg lock from the bottom. After Henderson got out of the hold he allowed Shields to stand, and for the rest of the round he continued to land punches and push Shields to the cage.
The second round then began the story of the fight.
Shields shot in for a takedown, and after Henderson held it off briefly, Shields rolled him to his back and began to work his position on the ground. It didn't take Shields long to get the mount position, and he held that position for nearly three minutes of the round. Henderson was able to get Shields back into his half guard only briefly before Shields passed again to get back to the position, and Shields continued to land short punches in the position before ending the round with a failed armbar attempt.
For the remaining three rounds it was the same situation, as Shields continuously took the fight to the ground and with ease passed Henderson's guard. He got to and held the mount position in each of the three rounds for a significant period of time, all the while landing short punches and staying busy. His punches weren't doing a ton of damage, and at no time did he appear to be close to really finishing Henderson, but the control he showed through the final four rounds was astonishing considering Henderson's Olympic wrestling background.
Shields has an option for one more fight on his Strikeforce contract, but for all intents and purposes he is now a free agent, as he is looking to test the type of money he can receive from either the UFC or Strikeforce. After defeating one of the biggest stars to come into Strikeforce in Henderson, Shields has all the bargaining power in the world.
Penick's Analysis: This was simply a fascinating fight to watch, as I've never seen Henderson get dominated like that on the ground. Shields didn't have the power to finish him, and never was able to lock on a submission attempt, but that's more a testament to Henderson's defense on the ground. But the fact that Shields was able to get to the mount as seemingly effortlessly as he did in each round was just something I wasn't expecting to see. I honestly don't think Shields returns to Strikeforce. There are far too many major fights for him in the UFC and the UFC will drive up the price on Strikeforce in negotiations as well. This was the biggest fight in Shields' career and he made good on the upset.
RELATED STORY: Penick's detailed Strikeforce on CBS report with star ratings and analysis: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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