UFC 144 Las Vegas Odds: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Jake Shields

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

by Bovada Sportsbook

When Jake Shields first went to the UFC many MMA betting fans were licking their chops at his 14-fight win streak and elite wrestling skills. However, a 1-2 record since joining the organization has all but disintegrated fans' hopes that he would be another UFC betting stud.

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Shields has slowly dropped down in the Welterweight rankings and will now need a win against Yoshihiro Akiyama this weekend at UFC 144 to remain relevant in the division.

Akiyama is another fighter that was a big name in other organizations but has had a tough time since coming over to the UFC. The Japanese judo specialist won his first UFC fight but has since dropped three straight. Now he will drop down to Welterweight to face Shields, and will also need to win if he hopes to have any type of future within the organization.

Since both fighters are primarily grapplers Shields will have an edge as one of the top wrestlers in the division. The stand-up battle, if there is one at all, should be closely matched with a slight power edge going to Akiyama. However, if one fighter starts to get the best of it in a stand-up bout neither fighter will be able to take the matchup to the mat.

Keys to victory for Shields are simple: He needs to get the fight to the ground where he should dominate for either a unanimous decision or a submission victory. All he has to do is stay away from Akiyama’s power and wear him down with ground-and-pound. Akiyama will need to use his boxing skills to keep Shields at bay and out-strike the former Strikeforce Middleweight champion the way Georges St- Pierre was able to do last summer.

Get all your UFC 144 Las Vegas Odds for Saturday night's UFC 144 card in Tokyo this week at Bovada Sportsbook.

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• Boxing and UFC
• Entertainment

Tags

georges st- pierre - jake shields - yoshihiro akiyama

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