- SHIELDS SAYS IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE UFC
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 -- by Damon Martin -- MMAWeekly.com
For Jake Shields, Monday was a lifetime of work paying off, and a dream come true.
The former EliteXC welterweight champion and Strikeforce middleweight champion finally put pen to paper and inked his official deal with the UFC. He will debut in the Octagon at 170 pounds against Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 in October.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has long talked about fighting the best in the world, and in his mind the list starts and stops with the UFC. In his last fight for Strikeforce, Shields took a dominant decision over Dan Henderson before becoming a free agent, and he says his mind was made up right away where he was going.
“No, I really didn’t have an intention of going back to Strikeforce,” Shields told MMAWeekly Radio on Monday. “It’s nothing against them. I don’t think they’re a bad show. I just think the UFC, it’s the prime show right now; everyone knows UFC is the spot to be. It doesn’t mean Strikeforce is bad; I think it’s good they’re out there.
“Being the Strikeforce champ’s cool and all, but I really had the dream of being the UFC champ.”
Becoming the UFC champion has long been a goal of Shields, and now that he’s signed to compete in the Octagon the dream could possibly become a reality.
“I want to go out there and try to make it happen,” he said about a title shot.
Shields’ exodus leaves the Strikeforce middleweight division with a vacant title, although they will crown a new champion in August. Beating Dan Henderson in April threw a major monkey wrench into the plans that Strikeforce had for its top free agent signing, and Shields knows it wasn’t what they had envisioned.
“I don’t think they were very happy about that,” he said about his win over Henderson. “I was actually planning on dropping back to 170 to finish my last fight on my contract, and they knew it was my last fight, so they were really pushy about me staying up (at 185), and I knew their motives of course. They thought Henderson would beat me, but I was like ‘alright if you want to do that.’ So then I think after I beat him they seemed pretty upset.”
The honeymoon for Strikeforce and Shields was definitely over after their middleweight champion showed up at one of their events and was told they didn’t have a place for him.
“I showed up for one of the Strikeforce fights to go watch when I was still the champ, before they released me, and they didn’t have me any tickets. So that made it pretty clear,” he said with a laugh.
With that, Shields walked away from Strikeforce and says he’s barely spoken to anyone from there since. Who he has talked to are UFC officials who are more than happy to welcome him to the fold. UFC president Dana White personally welcomed Shields via his Twitter account on Monday.
Through several promotions, titles, and big fights, Shields has always known that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was signing with the UFC, and now that the deal is done, it’s up to him to prove he belongs there.
“There’s nothing quite like fighting for the UFC,” Shield stated. “It’s exactly what I wanted, a tough fight, a good card, go out there and try to make a mark right away.”
He’ll get the chance to make his mark against Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif.
- JAKE SHIELDS SIGNS, UFC DEBUT AGAINST KAMPMANN
Monday, July 19, 2010 -- by Damon Martin -- MMAWeekly.com
There were some false starts last week, but it’s official now that Jake Shields has signed his new deal to become a UFC fighter. He will debut later this year in the welterweight division.
Shields confirmed the signing exclusively with MMAWeekly.com on Monday.
The deal to get Shields into the UFC has been expected for some time now, but it was just a matter of getting the right deal done, and it has now been signed, sealed and delivered.
Shields left his Strikeforce middleweight championship behind, riding a 14-fight winning streak into the Octagon.
Shields also confirmed previous reports that he will indeed drop back down to the welterweight division, after spending the last three fights at 185 pounds while in Strikeforce.
His first fight will be at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif., against Top 10 welterweight Martin Kampmann, who last fought in June, winning a unanimous decision over Paulo Thiago.
Shields vs. Kampmann could end up being a top contender’s fight with the winner getting a shot against the winner of the fight between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck.
(UPDATED with Shields’ first UFC opponent, Martin Kampmann.)
- SHIELDS RELEASED BY STRIKEFORCE, UFC DEAL EXPECTED
Thursday, July 01, 2010 -- by Damon Martin -- MMAWeekly.com
It’s been a long time coming, but it appears that Jake Shields’ exit from Strikeforce is official, and his move to the UFC could come at any day.
Shields was released from his Strikeforce contract on Wednesday as first reported by Sherdog.com, and sources speaking to MMAWeekly.com said that negotiations are underway with the UFC, and could be finished any day.
Strikeforce president Scott Coker appeared on MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday night and all but confirmed Shields’ exit from the promotion after a contract could not be settled due to financial reasons.
“The numbers, there was a big gap between what we thought was real, and what we thought was going to work, and I call that the numbers dance,” said Coker. “It is what it is, and we’re going to probably be moving forward with that tournament.”
The tournament is a possible 8 to 16 man middleweight tournament to fill the void of the championship vacated by Shields who won and defended the title successfully until his exit from the promotion on Wednesday.
The current timeline for Shields’ move to the UFC could come at any time. The negotiations are underway between Shields’ manager and the promotion, and a deal could be finalized as early as next week.
Current plans for Shields in the UFC could include a run at both middleweight and welterweight, but no definite decisions have been made at this time. Shields has stated on multiple occasions that he would be comfortable at either weight class, and would fight whoever the UFC put in front of him.
Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on Jake Shields officially moving to the UFC as it becomes available in the coming days.
Graciefighter news
1-31-09
Congrats to Nick Diaz for capturing the Strikeforce MW Title tonight
Three Cesar Gracie Kings wear the Strikeforce crown.
Gilbert Melendez Lightweight Champion
Nick Diaz Welterweight Champion
Jake Shields Middleweight Champion
JAKE SHIELDS WINS STRIKEFORCE MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Jake now holds 4 major belts!
SHOOTO WORLD CHAMPION
RUMBLE ON THE ROCK WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
ELITEXC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
STRIKEFORCE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION
SHIELDS MAKES CASE FOR AMERICAN JIU JITSU
ST. LOUIS — Continuing on his mission to prove jiu-jitsu, aggressive submission-seeking jiu-jitsu, is a mighty fine and effective way to win a fight, Jake Shields snagged Robbie Lawler’s neck and strangled him in front of 8,867 fans Saturday at the Scottrade Center.
READ MORE
BY JOSH GROSS
Jake Shields has been awarded a Blackbelt in Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
Shields has had an incredible MMA and submission grappling career and looks to only further his accomplishments in the future.
In 2002 Shields defeated Hayato “Mach” Sakurai to shock the MMA world. He later became only the 2nd American to have ever won the Shooto Championship. In 2005 Shields took 3rd place in the ADCC World Championships by defeating Diego Sanchez, Cameron Earl and Leo Santos. Later in the year he submitted John Fitch to become the Gracie Open Superfight Champion. In 2006 Shields defeated Dave Menne, Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit to become the Rumble on the Rock GP Champion. Last year Shields submitted Renato “Charuto” Verissimo and Mike Pyle to become EliteXC’s #1 contender. Shields has now joined David Terrell and Nick Diaz in becoming 1 of an elite 3 that has ever been promoted to Blackbelt at the Cesar Gracie Academy. Congratulations Jake Shields! Graciefighter.com
