Jake Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist, podcaster and far-right commentator.

Shields was a four-year varsity wrestler and state qualifier at Calaveras High School, finished 2nd place at the Amateur Athletic Union National Freestyle Championships, qualified for U.S. / FILA Nationals & World Team Trials in both the junior & university men's divisions.

In September 1999, Shields began his MMA training by joining Chuck Liddell's SLO Kickboxing Academy.

In 2001, Shields decided he wanted to make a career of mixed martial arts and began fighting at his natural weight of 170 pounds (77 kg).

[citation needed] In the summer of 2001, Shields received a wrestling scholarship to San Francisco State University.

[citation needed] Shields was the head instructor of BJJ (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) and MMA at the Fairtex-Gracie affiliate in San Francisco from March 2002 until April 2008.

[citation needed] Shields has developed a style of fighting called "American Jiu-Jitsu", which he has tattooed on his forearm.

[5][better source needed] Shields's American Jiu-Jitsu is a no-gi style of grappling for MMA and self-defense and a complete combat art that combines the relaxed and ready position and submission techniques of Brazilian jiu-jitsu with the explosive takedowns, throws and transitions of wrestling.

Jake Shields stated in an interview that it was tough for Strikeforce to provide him with exciting fights and this would be a key aspect in his decision to stay or leave.

[12] In July 2010, it was reported that Shields was close to signing a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to compete in the promotion's Welterweight division.

[17] Shields faced Jake Ellenberger on September 17, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 25, losing via first-round TKO.

[citation needed] Shields faced Yoshihiro Akiyama on February 26, 2012, at UFC 144, winning via unanimous decision.

On October 12, 2012, it was announced that Jake Shields had failed his drug test at UFC 150 and he was subsequently fined and suspended.

[23] The bout was contested on the feet for nearly its entirety in a largely uneventful fight where neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense.

[25] As expected, the contest between the two decorated jiu jitsu practitioners took place mostly on the ground, and Shields won via split decision.

[citation needed] In his second fight for the promotion, Shields faced Brian Foster in the main event at WSOF 17 on January 17, 2015.

[40] On November 22, 2014, Shields fought Roberto Satoshi in a grappling match in Metamoris V. The fight ended in a draw.

[43] According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Shields output promoted a range of positions including antisemitism, the Great Replacement theory and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

This would include doctors, therapists, teachers, guidance counselors, etc On April 25, 2023, Shields had addressed support via a tweet, which was later deleted for violating Twitter's terms of service, for the public executions of people who help a child transition their gender, and recommended that doctors, therapists, teachers, and guidance counselors be publicly executed for their assistance in helping the gender transitions of children.

[48] In September 2023, Shields supported the social media campaign to ban the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from Twitter.

[49] In March 2024, the ADL described him as an "antisemitic conspiracy theorist", after he claimed that Israel created the terrorist group ISIS.

[50] In 2023, Shields began promoting himself as a pro-Palestine activist, amassing followers on social media for his strongly anti-Israel rhetoric during the Israel–Hamas war.

The ADL identified him as one of five key far right influencers on X who had used the conflict to gain an audience, whose combined follower count increased by over 1070% in the period, Shields reaching over 760,000 in late 2023.

[51] One May 2024 post on X, according to the ADL, was viewed over 1.3 million times and has 21K likes and said that Jews control America, as Congress is “making it illegal to question Jewish power.”[44] Public Discourse alleged that "he has spread multiple blood libels with impunity".

[53][44] Jake Shields stars in and co-produced Fight Life, an award-winning documentary on the sport of MMA, the film is directed by James Z. Feng and released in 2013.

[56] Shields also served as a grappling coach for Chuck Liddell on The Ultimate Fighter 11,[57] and appeared on the Animal Planet channel for episodes of Wild Recon and Venom in Vegas.

He was charged with misdemeanor battery related to an altercation between himself and Mike Jackson, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.