Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and two time World Series Of Fighting Welterweight Title challenger Jake Shields was eating dinner with his girlfriend near the UC Berkeley campus, when he noticed a beaten and bloody man in his vicinity.
“I went to try to get police assistance, and they said they wouldn’t go in there,” he said to MMA Junkie. “People were getting attacked and beat up. There were hundreds of them around, with weapons, so I was trying to diffuse the situation with the least amount of effort possible,” he said. “Generally, when you throw a punch, guys back off.”
The protests broke out in response to a speaking engagement at the university by Breitbart editor and right wing Milo Yiannopoulus. The speaking engagement was called off due to the protests.
Shields is a firm believer that people shouldn’t use violence to solve problems, despite the fact he’s an MMA fighter.
“You need to have a conversation with people,” he said. “Maybe instead of attacking Milo, they should have went in and debated him and say why they don’t agree with his issues. Most people want the same thing. They want America to be a better place; they just have slightly different ideas on how it needs to be done.”
Shields even posted the following on his Twitter:
The aftermath of me helping a guy after being jumped by thugs. The police and 100's of civilians stood and watched. pic.twitter.com/7hN2iJ4kkf
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) February 2, 2017
Shields hasn’t competed since the WSOF 34 on New Years Eve 2016, where he suffered a decision loss to WSOF Welterweight Champion Jon Fitch.
