Shields flashy for the cameras – after the fight

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Jake Shields set off more fireworks in Saturday night’s Strikeforce postfight press conference than he did in the Sears Centre cage earlier in the evening.

Shields, who was workmanlike but unspectacular in his unanimous decision win over Jason “Mayhem” Miller to claim the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title, was asked about former champion Cung Le, who vacated the title but returns to action next month.

“Cung won’t fight me,” Shields (24-4-1) said. “That’s why he vacated the belt and now he’s fighting a month later.”

Shields took some of the edge off his gamesmanship by hugging and fist-bumping Le as he left the podium moments after his remarks, but his point was made. Saturday night’s victory gave Shields Strikeforce’s marquee title. The company made its name over the past several years with the likes of Le and Frank Shamrock defending the title, so for Shields, a match with Le seems like a natural fit.

“I’m honored that top fighters want to fight me,” said Le, who returns from a nearly two-year absence to meet Scott Smith on Dec. 19. “Obviously I’ve done something right and made a big impact in MMA. Right now I’ll take things one fight at a time, and when I get there, I’ll think about who’s next.”

Shields, who fights out of San Francisco, won his 12th consecutive fight, with most of those coming in the welterweight division, where he held the Elite XC championship. At 170 pounds, Shields usually used his wrestling to overwhelm his opponents and then power his way to a finish on the ground, usually in short order. He had finished nine consecutive opponents before getting the decision over Miller.

Though Shields, a former college wrestler, was able to use those skills to continually take Miller down, he wasn’t able to do much once he got him there. As a result, it was a 25-minute contest that didn’t exactly leave those in attendance thrilled.

Miller (22-7, 1 no-contest) noticed, telling the media, “I could hear you guys in the front row. I was like, man, they’re talking about the Dow [Jones] industrial average.”

Miller has carved out a successful career by making himself a spectacle while displaying just enough skill to hang with the big boys. He is known for his flashy entrances – and he didn’t disappoint Saturday night, dancing his way through a gauntlet of dancers on the way to the cage – and has earned a degree of stardom as the host of the MTV series “Bully Beatdown.”

But Miller reminded everyone Saturday that there is steak to go with his sizzle as he actually came the closest to finishing the fight. Miller almost put Shields out with a rear-naked choke at the end of the third round, but Shields was saved by the bell.

“I thought he was sleeping,” said Miller. “I realized I had a short amount of time. I didn’t sink in the choke quick enough. But he was fine and then we got up for the start of the fourth round for some more snuggling. I didn’t do enough to capitalize on the chances that I had, so I deserved to lose.”

Shields showed no ill-effects from the choke and resumed with his rinse-and-repeat takedowns. Shields won by two scores of 49-46 and one of 48-47.

“[The choke] was on pretty tight,” said Shields, who was jeered by much of the crowd when he was announced as the winner. “But I know there wasn’t much time so I didn’t fight it really hard. I wasn’t all that happy with my performance. I like to finish fights.”

Shields will go back to work and plot his next move with Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker, who has to figure out the best way to go forward with a tweener champion.

“I can fight at middleweight,” said Shields. “I’ve go two wins there now. I think I’m stronger and probably faster at welterweight. I think I can fight here, but I think if I can pick one division that’s my strongest, that would be welterweight.”

“It’s up to Jake where he’ll fight next, we’ll have that conversation,” said Coker, who offered up Japanese fighter Hayato Sakurai as a possible welterweight opponent. “It’s his choice. If he wants to drop down, we’ll accommodate him.”

“Haven’t thought about it yet,” said Shields, moments before throwing down the gauntlet to Le. “It depends on the opponent. I’ll fight whomever.”