Jake Shields

Early life

Shields was raised near Mountain Ranch, California. He was a wrestler at Calaveras High School, and then a junior college wrestler at Cuesta College. In 2001, he received a wrestling scholarship to San Francisco State University.

Mixed martial arts

Shields is perhaps best known for his 15-fight winning streak, finishing eight of his eleven opponents before being defeated by UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in a unanimous decision in a five round battle at UFC 129. Shields has captured the Shooto World Mixed Martial Arts Championship and the Rumble on the Rock World Championship. He submitted Nick Thompson via guillotine choke in a bout for the Elite XC Welterweight Championship.

He finished in 3rd place at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship in 2005.

At Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields he fought EliteXC's last middleweight champion and former two-time ICON Sport middleweight champion at a catchweight of 182 lb. Shields pounced and secured a guillotine choke to finish his opponent via submission at 2:02 of the first round.

At Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers he fought Jason 'Mayhem' Miller for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship after Cung Le stepped down as champion to pursue his acting career. Shields defeated Miller via unanimous decision.

Shields successfully defended his title, defeating former Pride World Welterweight and Pride Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson via unanimous decision on April 17, 2010, at Strikeforce: Nashville.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 30, 2010, Strikeforce released Shields from the organization. In July 2010, it was reported that Shields was close to signing a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Shields made his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121. Shields defeated Kampmann via split decision.

Shields fought Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship on April 30, 2011, at UFC 129 in Toronto. Shields lost via unanimous decision.

Shields faced Jake Ellenberger on September 17, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 25, losing via first-round TKO.

He faced Yoshihiro Akiyama on February 26, 2012, at UFC 144, winning via unanimous decision.

Shields returned to the middleweight division and faced Ed Herman on August 11, 2012, at UFC 150. Initially, he was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

On October 12, 2012, however, it was announced that Shields had failed his drug test at UFC 150 on account of the fact that the test revealed that he had used a banned performance enhancing drug, and he was subsequently fined and suspended for six months. The result of the fight was changed to a No Contest. In January 2015 Shields said the failed test was due to a banned diuretic.

Shields faced Tyron Woodley in a welterweight bout on June 15, 2013, at UFC 161. The bout was contested on the feet for nearly its entirety in a largely uneventful fight where neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense. Shields defeated Woodley via split decision.

Shields next faced Demian Maia on October 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 29. As expected, the contest between the two jiu jitsu practitioners took place mostly on the ground, and Shields won via split decision.

He fought Héctor Lombard on March 15, 2014, at UFC 171. Shields lost the fight via unanimous decision.

On April 6, 2014, Shields was released from the promotion.

After Shields was released from the UFC, the outspoken and often candid president of the organization, Dana White, had this to say about Shields:

World Series of Fighting

In April 2014, Shields signed a multi-fight deal with the World Series of Fighting. Shields was expected to compete at WSOF 11 on July 5, 2014, against Jon Fitch, but withdrew due to a shoulder injury.

Shields made his debut for World Series of Fighting at WSOF 14 on October 11, 2014, in Edmonton, Canada against WSOF Canadian Welterweight Champion Ryan Ford. He won via submission in the first round.

Shield next faced Brian Foster in the main event at WSOF 17 on January 17, 2015. He again won the fight via submission in the first round.

Shields faced Rousimar Palhares on August 1, 2015, at WSOF 22. He lost the fight by submission due to a kimura, marking his first loss by submission. This wasn't without controversy as Palhares repeatedly eye gouged Shields after several warnings from the ref, Palhares also held onto the submission well after Shields had tapped. In response, Shields punched Palhares in the face after the fight was over, and attempted a kick which the referee blocked. Both Shields and Palhares were temporarily suspended by the NSAC after the fight.

Shields was lined up to face Jon Fitch for the vacant WSOF welterweight championship at WSOF 30 on April 1, 2016. The match was canceled due to contract issues between Shields and the company.

It was announced that Shields would challenge for the WSOF Welterweight Championship against Jon Fitch on November 12, 2016, at WSOF 34. The fight was then rescheduled to December 31, 2016, in the co-main event. Shields lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

Shields made his PFL debut at PFL Everett on July 29, 2017, against Danny Davis Jr. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

On July 5, 2018, Shields made his PFL season debut at PFL 3. Despite being a heavy favorite, he lost to Ray Cooper III via technical knockout in the second round.

On August 16, 2018, Shields defeated Herman Terrado at PFL 6 via unanimous decision advancing to the playoffs.

On October 20, 2018, Shields faced Ray Cooper III in a rematch at PFL 10. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Grappling events

On November 22, 2014, Shields fought Roberto Satoshi in a grappling match in Metamoris V. The fight ended in a draw.

On April 2, 2016, Shields then fought AJ Agazarm at Polaris 3. The match was controversial as it was plagued with eye gouges and strikes coming from both fighters. At one point in the match Shields slapped Agazarm while both men were standing. The fight ended in a draw.

Shields defeated Diego Sanchez in a grappling match at High Rollerz 4 on February 5, 2020.

Television and film

Shields stars in and co-produced Fight Life, an award-winning documentary on the sport of MMA, the film is directed by James Z. Feng and released in 2013. Shields appeared in three episodes of Bully Beatdown on MTV and MTV2 on April 12, 2009, and a different episode on September 10. Shields also served as a grappling coach for Chuck Liddell on The Ultimate Fighter 11, and appeared on the Animal Planet channel for episodes of Wild Recon and Venom in Vegas.

Political views and activism

This would include doctors, therapists, teachers, guidance counselors, etc | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230426052703/https://twitter.com/jakeshieldsajj/status/1651023048471089152 | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 26, 2023

On December 28, 2022, following an online altercation between climate activist Greta Thunberg and influencer Andrew Tate, Shields suggested that Tate should give Thunberg a 'proper smashing' so that she abandons her 'crazy feminist/climate nonsense'.

On April 25, 2023, Shields had addressed support via a tweet, which was later deleted for violating Twitter's terms of service, for the public executions of people who help a child transition their gender, and recommended that doctors, therapists, teachers, and guidance counselors be publicly executed for their assistance in helping the gender transitions of children.

In September 2023, Shields supported the social media campaign to ban the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from Twitter. In March 2024, the ADL described him as an "antisemitic conspiracy theorist", after he claimed that Israel created the terrorist group ISIS.

In 2023, Shields began promoting himself as a pro-Palestine activist, amassing followers on social media for his strongly anti-Israel rhetoric during the Gaza war. The ADL identified him as one of five key far right influencers on X who had used the conflict to gain an audience, whose combined follower count increased by over 1070% in the period, Shields reaching over 760,000 in late 2023.

Shields is also a proponent of Holocaust denial, saying in a post on X in February 2024: “I don’t think a single Jew died in gas chambers.” One May 2024 post on X, according to the ADL, was viewed over 1.3 million times and has 21K likes and said that Jews control America, as Congress is “making it illegal to question Jewish power.” Public Discourse alleged that "he has spread multiple blood libels with impunity".

In June 2024, Shields and white supremacist activist Nick Fuentes were prevented from attending a conference of the right-wing Turning Point USA and instead attended a far-right rally in Detroit originally organized by Fuentes as the 2024 America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), and also attended by Sulaiman Ahmed, an online influencer, and David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Shields also hosted David Duke on his podcast and described him as a "nice old man".

In March 2025, while hosting an Australian neo-Nazi on his podcast, Shields praised Adolf Hitler and Nazi policies, claiming that Hitler 'wasn’t pushing hatred towards other races'. He also defended the Nazi book burnings, claiming the books targeted "were, like, tranny books and communist books".

The Southern Poverty Law Center has also published an article highlighting Shields’ interactions and support of Neo-Nazi and Alt-Right groups and beliefs.

Personal life

Shields has a daughter, born December 2000. On August 29, 2011, Shields' father and manager, Jack Shields, died at age 67.

Shields is a lifelong vegetarian. He appeared in both print and video ads for PETA, touting his vegetarian lifestyle. Shields is critical of vaccines.

On September 21, 2023, he failed to appear at an arraignment in a Nevada court. He was charged with misdemeanor battery related to an altercation between himself and Mike Jackson, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

He has identified as a former atheist who now holds belief in a God.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

• California Interscholastic Federation
  • CIF State Championship Qualifier (1997)

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2010: Ranked #2 Newcomer of the Year
• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (One time)
  • One successful title defense
• Elite Xtreme Combat
  • EliteXC Welterweight Championship (One time; first; last)
  • One successful title defense
• Professional Shooto Japan
  • Shooto Welterweight Championship (One time)
• Rumble on the Rock
  • Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Championship
  • Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Tournament Winner

Submission grappling

• Abu Dhabi Combat Club
  • 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships - bronze medalist
• Fight 2 Win
  • FTW Middleweight Championship (One time, current)
• International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2005 Pan American Championships - gold medalist
• International Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2007 Gracie Open Superfight champion
• Grapplers Quest
  • Grapplers Quest Advance champion (three times)

Mixed martial arts record

| ko-wins= 3 | ko-losses= 4 | sub-wins= 12 | sub-losses= 1 | dec-wins= 18 | dec-losses= 6 | dq-wins= | dq-losses= | other-wins=

| |Washington, D.C., U.S.

| | Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |- |Loss |Ray Cooper III |TKO (punches) |PFL 3 | |Washington, D.C., U.S. | |- | Win | Danny Davis Jr. | Decision (unanimous) | PFL: Everett | | Everett, Washington, U.S. | |- | Loss | Jon Fitch | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 34 | | New York City, U.S.

| | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

| | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- | Win | Ryan Ford | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WSOF 14 | | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |- | Loss | Héctor Lombard | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 171 | | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |- | Win | Demian Maia | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields | | Barueri, Brazil | |- | Win | Tyron Woodley | Decision (split) | UFC 161 | | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |- | NC | Ed Herman | NC (overturned) | UFC 150 | | Denver, Colorado, U.S.

| | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss | Jake Ellenberger | TKO (knee and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger | | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |- | Loss | Georges St-Pierre | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 129 | | Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| | Anaheim, California, U.S.

| | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

| | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, U.S.

| | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

| | Sunrise, Florida, U.S.

| | Stockton, California, U.S.

| | Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. | |- | Win | Renato Verissimo | TKO (punches and elbows) | EliteXC: Uprising | | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Ray Steinbeiss | Submission (guillotine choke) | Bodog Fight: Costa Rica Combat | | San José, Costa Rica | |- | Win | Steve Berger | TKO (punches) | FCP: Malice at Cow Palace | | San Francisco, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Carlos Condit | Decision (unanimous) | Rumble on the Rock 9 | | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |- | Win | Dave Menne | Decision (unanimous) | Rumble on the Rock 8 | | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |- | Win | Toby Imada | Decision (unanimous) | Kage Kombat | | California, U.S. | |- | Loss | Akira Kikuchi | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Year End Show 2004 | | Tokyo, Japan

| | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Akira Kikuchi | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto - 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium | | Kanagawa, Japan | |- | Win | Milton Vieira | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Midwest Fighting | | Hammond, Indiana, U.S. | |- | Win | Hayato Sakurai | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Year End Show 2002 | | Chiba, Chiba, Japan | |- | Loss | Ray Cooper Jr. | Decision (majority) | Warriors Quest 6: Best of the Best | | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| | Colusa, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Jeremy Jackson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GC 6: Caged Beasts | | Colusa, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Tracy Hess | Decision (unanimous) | GC 3: Showdown at Soboba | | Friant, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Randy Velarde | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GC 2: Collision at Colusa | | Colusa, California, U.S. | |- | Loss | Phillip Miller | Decision (unanimous) | IFC: Warriors Challenge 9 | | Friant, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Shannon Ritch | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Best of the Best | | Tempe, Arizona, U.S. | |- | Loss | Marty Armendarez | TKO (punches) | IFC: Warriors Challenge 6 | | Friant, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Brian Warren | Decision (unanimous) | CFF: The Cobra Challenge 1999 | | Anza, California, U.S. | |- | Win | Paul Harrison | TKO (punches) | CFF: The Cobra Qualifier 1999 | | Anza, California, U.S. |

Submission grappling record

References

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