#3 Ed Herman and Jake Shields’ UFC abomination
Ed Herman (23-12-1) is a UFC Light-heavyweight (LHW) fighter who previously fought at Middleweight (MW) with an MMA base of wrestling. Jake Shields (31-9-1-1) is a former Strikeforce MW champion and former Shooto Welterweight (WW) champion, with an MMA base of wrestling, BJJ and Shooto.
At UFC 150 in 2012, Shields faced Herman in a 3-Round matchup in every fighter’s nightmare location, Denver, Colorado. The cardio-draining elevation in Denver, Shields’ grappling-heavy fighting style and Herman’s strange game-plan ensured a full-blown episode of unintentional comedy.
Herman being the better striker of the two inexplicably decided to clinch with the superior grappler, clinching Shields against the fence.
With both fighters hanging on to each other and not much action taking place, the 1st round set the tone for the fight. The 2nd and 3rd rounds featured more of the same, with Shields lying on top of Herman without getting off much offence.
Now although Shields is one of the best WW fighters of his generation, there’s no denying the fact that his fighting style involves a lot of grappling aimed at hiding his striking deficiencies.
That, coupled with Herman’s strange strategy of initiating the grappling exchanges with his grappling-specialist opponent, lead to one of the most uneventful matchups in Octagon history.
Ed Herman’s terrible strategy and Jake Shields’ grinding style culminated in a God-awful matchup at UFC 150.
