Former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields made a successful middleweight debut in the UFC at UFC 150 over the weekend, scoring a decision victory over Ed Herman.
Shields, who decided to move up from welterweight after defeating Yoshihiro Akiyama, didn’t have the kind of dominating performance he was hoping for.
The California-based fighter admitted that he didn’t properly train for the altitude issues with fighting in Denver.
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.
Shields has made mention of hoping to reach a title fight with Anderson Silva in the future, but he’ll likely need more impressive victories to secure a shot at “The Spider.”
Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting
