Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

Following a huge win over surging welterweight contender Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 29 on Wednesday night, grappling ace Jake Shields has his eye on the big dogs of the UFC's 170-pound division.

The Cesar Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt called out three of the top five competitors in his weight class at the post-fight media conference, even asking for a rematch with champion Georges St-Pierre, per MMA Mania.

I think (the win over Maia) puts me really high back up. Maia was ranked number four in the world (and was on) a four-fight win streak. I already have wins over Carlos Condit, Robbie Lawler, top contenders. So I want another shot at GSP ... Whether I have to fight Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit, any of the top contenders, I just want to fight people at the top right now.

While most pundits gave Shields no chance against Maia, a fourth-degree black belt in BJJ, the American fighter's underrated sweeps and well-documented top control made the difference in the close fight.

The 34-year-old Tennessee native, who defeated Top 10 welterweights Condit and Lawler in 2006 and 2009, respectively, is now 3-0(1) in his four bouts since losing back-to-back fights to GSP and Jake Ellenberger in 2011.

As Shields pointed out, Maia entered UFC Fight Night 29 as the No. 4 welterweight in the world.

According to the UFC's official rankings, Condit sits at No. 2, while MacDonald is right behind him at No. 3.

Given that Shields' unanimous-decision loss to St-Pierre at UFC 129 was a lackluster affair, immediately throwing him into a title bout seems next to impossible.

Condit and MacDonald are also booked, though. "The Natural Born Killer" faces off with Matt Brown at UFC on Fox 9 in December, while "Ares" takes on Lawler at UFC 167 next month.

The best-case scenario for Shields would be if Johny Hendricks upsets St-Pierre and becomes the new welterweight champ at UFC 167 on November 16.

Regardless of what happens in these pivotal welterweight bouts, it seems inevitable that Shields, a former Strikeforce middleweight champ, will crack the 170-pound division's Top 10 following his win over Maia.

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.