How can jake shields beat gsp

I think this really could go either way; it is certainly the most intriguing GSP fight in years. I may change my mind once I see them at the weight-in but, right now, I am feeling the upset. Plus I have to go with the Quebec guy. Some say he plays it safe, but he wins fights and dominates opponents.

Shields is tough and durable but he does not have GSP's arsenal. One mistake could cost the champion, but otherwise look for a comprehensive GSP victory by decision.

He won't. St-Pierre wins by third-round TKO. But I do think that Jake will need to get it to the ground to win. He is technically just too good. I think this fight will go much the same way the GSP-Koscheck fight went. Pierre is recognized in all MMA circles to be among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

But, then again, Jake Shields is there as well. Whether Shields should have won his last bout at all is debatable, but either way his dominance over the last few years cannot be ignored.

The real question in this fight is who will control the fight on the ground. We may have to get used to the fact that GSP will get taken down in this fight. But, can Shields control the champ once he gets there? Will St. We can only speculate for now. It is true that Shields used to fight at Middleweight, but this is now his second fight back in the pound division, and his body has slimmed down.

He is not used to the weight cut; because of that, I think he will be walking around with less weight to cut than last time. On the other hand, the champion has been at for his entire UFC career and is very used to the weight cut. He has even added bulk to his frame over the past year and has still had no problem making weight. The fact that GSP is more seasoned at this weight should mean that he will be the bigger man.

GSP will use his size advantage to control the Octagon. He will neutralize the biggest advantage of his opponent by actually out-wrestling him and controlling where the fight will go. It is not a stretch to say that St. Pierre is head and shoulders above Shields in that aspect of the game.

Shields is not powerful on his feet at all. If St. Usually he throws that straight Superman punch, his punches are straight down the pike, I was trying to figure out why he kept throwing the same punch all night.

He was throwing it hard, like he was trying to knock him out, like he was trying to force a knockout, so I can't recall having seen GSP ever throw a winging overhand right and I've seen all of his fights multiple times. As for the spinning back kick, that's a move GSP relied on early in his career we've even done a Judo Chop on his use of the spinning back kick against Matt Hughes back in , but it's not a strike he's been employing much recently.

That changed last night as St. Pierre threw spinning back kick after winging overhand right after spinning back kick but never connected cleanly with either strike. Dave Meltzer commented on GSP's strategy and execution:. The takedown defense was the most impressive part of St. Pierre's game.

On a couple occasions, Shields caught St. Pierre's leg when he would throw a kick, and have a high single, but never once was able to complete the takedown, including a couple of escapes that were almost ballet-like in nature. That made all the difference in the fight, as few gave Shields much of a shot at winning the title unless he was able to take the champion down. But St.

Pierre's striking game, which destroyed Josh Koscheck so badly in his previous fight that Koscheck is still just barely getting over the injuries, and beat master strikers B. Penn and Thiago Alves at their own game, wasn't as crisp as usual, and was far too predictable. Pierre came with an attack which would usually finish with an overhand right, and also kept throwing spin kicks, which were something new.

Shields was hurt a few times by the rights, particularly in the early rounds. But Shields eventually caught on to the pattern and St. Pierre missed badly on a number of punches. We've seen GSP struggle with a few recent opponents. Against Dan Hardy he missed several good chances to get the submission due to minor technical mistakes. But we've never seen GSP struggle with both a mid-fight injury -- the blinded left eye -- and an inability to execute on his game plan.