In case you missed any of the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers action on CBS, you can get it here.
Jake Shields won by unanimous decision over Jason “Mayhem” Miller to win the Strikeforce interim middleweight championship.
Shields got a quick takedown with Miller against the fence. Miller could not get up and Shields worked into full mount. Miller was able to get back on his feet with 3:10 left, helping him avoid using significant energy. Shields quickly got Miller down again, once again with Miller sitting back-to-fence.
Miller stood up by 1:25 and slammed Shields on his back six seconds later, but Shields managed to get Miller into guard position. Shields scrambled to his feet, only to get half-slammed. Miller's late action might have been enough to earn him the nod in Round One.
Shields immediately started bleeding at the commencement of the second round but managed another quick takedown. He again worked into full mount and watched Miller escape.
The sequence continued to mirror Round One, as Shields then got down Miller and advanced position. Shields maintained side control and was very active through the first 4:18 of the round, when Miller finally reversed and got an advantage. It lasted only a few seconds, and Shields protected himself from damage by holding heel-hook position.
Shields expended a lot of energy and it resulted in his winning the round.
In Round Three, Miller turned the tables with a slam 12 seconds in. Shields, unfazed, got up and took down Miller, getting right into side control. Shields again advanced into full mount, but Miller quickly escaped, only to get mounted again.
Miller tried to sneak out the back door at 2:50, but Shields adjusted his dominant positon. Miller pulled off a monkey roll to get out. Referee Big John McCarthy paused the fight at 1:48 to have Miller’s glove adjusted. Shields took down Miller on the restart, with Miller once again sitting against the fence. Miller glanced at the video board as he tried to deliver a blow to the side of Shields’ head.
Miller reversed a takedown and took Shields' back. As the clock hit seven seconds, Miller locked in a deep rear naked choke, but Shields did not tap and was saved as the horn sounded. Despite the submission attempt, Shields won the round decisively.
Neither fighter had ventured into the fourth round in their career until this match.
Shields needed 20 seconds of the fourth to earn his first takedown, putting Miller in the familiar position sitting against the fence and working a leg-ride. The crowd at the Sears Centre began to grow restless and McCarthy got cheered at 2:40 when he stood up the fighters.
Miller landed a heavy knee and Shields quickly protected with a takedown aimed at making the opponent defend the knee bar, then giving it up to advance into side control. Shields set up an arm triangle at 1:25 then switched to the back and moved to full mount. Miller was able to roll out twice but landed back in Shield’s side control for the final 30 seconds.
The fourth round went to Shields, who at that point appeared to have the fight won.
The fifth and final round remained on the feet until 4:14, when Shields started delivering knees to set up a takedown. Miller was able to get up, but Shields left him little time to establish anything. Shields held Miller to the fence, got the action to the ground and advanced into the full mount. Shields moved into a body lock across the waistline by the midway point, content to deliver punishment from behind.
Miller reversed at 1:32, pushed for a guillotine and lost it, allowing Shields into side control. Shields engulfed Miller once again. Miller scooted to the fence and got up within the last half-minute, flailing with punches and kicks until time ran out.
Shields carried the judges' cards 48-47 and 49-46 twice. The only way Miller should have been given a round other than the first is if his near-finish of Shields at the end of the third round was deemed enough to override Shields' dominant performance in the opening 4:30.
Comments