Put yourself in the shoes of a UFC fighter. Sure you'd like to be entertaining and amuse the people in the seats screaming for blood, but your first goal is to win. Shields is undefeated in 15 fights now and has one decision loss in the last eight years. And he's beaten some good guys like Robbie Lawler, Sakurai, Jason Miller, Okami, Carlos Condit, Charuto and of course, Dan Henderson. Who in the 170 lb class can match his record? Who else is left for GSP? How many times does GSP have to fight Fitch? (who I believe is the only one close to his level and has a ghost of a chance).
He clearly defeated Kampmann. Took him down repeatedly and established the better positions whereas Kampmann didn't do much. He played into Jake's game. Jake was in trouble in the beginning of the third round and Kampmann didn't capitalized on that. Shields dug deep and pushed on. Some fairy. I will admit that if it went five rounds then I think Shields might not have been so fortunate. Cutting weight seemed to take its toll and he seems much more comfortable at 185 lbs.
Sure Jake is primary a Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu guy. Americans like to see a slug fest. But it was Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu that started all this so it's not for him to go elsewhere. I don't find him boring at all. His combat no-gi Jiu-Jitsu is beautiful. So smooth, slick and technical. I was watching the fight with a friend who also goes back to the days of the original Gracie Academy in Torrance, CA. He also would shake his head in awe. Like Rogan (who be a serious student and trainer of BJJ and a legit bad ass and can appreciate Shield's level of skill) said, Shields is just a notch below some of the great BJJ legends in the sport today like Marcello Garcia and Jacare. I wish more people could appreciate the more technical aspects of the ground game like they do in Japan.
Funny how when things don't go the way you want them to then it's a fix. Dana doesn't pick the judges or the referees and the commission doesn't give a crap what he thinks.