Shields Preps for ‘All-Out War’ Against Henderson

No one expects Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields to have it easy on Saturday –- least of all Shields himself.

Shields will defend his title for the first time at Strikeforce “Nashville” this Saturday at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., against Dan Henderson, a two-time Olympic wrestler and former top-5 UFC fighter recently signed to the rival organization.

“I think it’s going to be everywhere. It’s going to be on our feet, I’m going to take Henderson down. I think he’s going to take me down. I think it’s going to be an all-out war,” said Shields during a teleconference call with the media on Friday.

Henderson, the only fighter to ever hold dual Pride Fighting Championships’ titles at the same time, agreed with Shields’ prediction and noted his opponent’s aptitude on the ground.

“He’s very dangerous in certain aspects of the game. I’m sure he plans on taking me down and (using) some of his bigger submissions… there’s definitely things I need to watch out for and be careful for.”

Still, Henderson, who’s been submitted only three times during his 32-fight career, said he wasn’t overly pre-occupied with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt’s mat prowess.

“I feel like over the years I’ve fought guys as good or better than Jake on the ground and that are great with submissions,” said the 39-year-old Henderson. “You know, I’m not too bad there myself, so I’m not really too concerned about it.”

For Shields -- who hasn’t stopped an opponent with strikes since his debut fight in 2000 -- Henderson poses a danger in both his power striking and Olympic-caliber wrestling. Shields said he’s drilled both areas extensively.

“I’m not the easiest guy to hit and I can certainly take a punch,” he said.

The 31-year-old champion made his middleweight debut with Strikeforce last June, where he snagged striker Robbie Lawler with a guillotine choke just two minutes into the bout. Shields, who’s banked most of his career at 170 pounds, earned a unanimous decision over Jason “Mayhem” Miller last November to take the vacant middleweight title.

Since last year, Shields said he’s followed a nutritional plan and lifted weights to build up his middleweight frame. On Friday, Shields said he was walking around at 195 pounds.

“I’ve bulked up. I’m still not a huge 185-pounder, but I feel like I’m a lot better,” said Shields. “I feel really strong and fast this way. It’s the best I’ve felt at 185.”

Shields said he believed there would be no more than a five-pound differential between himself and Henderson, who’s see-sawed between the 185- and 205-pound divisions himself, come fight night.

“If I lose, weight’s not going to be a factor,” said Shields. “If I lose, Dan’s the better fighter.”