Jake Shields signs with UFC

http://mmajunkie.com/news/19947/jake-shields-signs-with-ufc-returning-to-welterweight-division.mma
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (25-4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is no longer a free agent.

As expected, Shields has officially signed with the UFC, and will soon make his debut for the world's biggest mixed martial arts promotion.

And while Shields' father and manager, Jack Shields, in June told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that his son would likely test the waters of the UFC's middleweight division, Jake will instead drop down to his more natural fighting weight of 170 pounds.

The announcement was made Thursday night on GracieFighter.com, a website owned by Shields' trainer, Cesar Gracie.

"Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170-pound weight division in the UFC," the announcement stated. "After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight.

"Jake's opponent is one of the UFC's top contenders and will be announced shortly."

Opponent to be announce shortly...wonder who it could be? Has to be a top WW not tied up to a fight. Kampmann?

kampman or the looser of fitch vs alves?

killerofchicken wrote:

kampman or the looser of fitch vs alves?

Well it says contender and it is hard to schedule a fight like that since injuries come into play. I would say Hughes-Almedia winner makes sense but with injuries I don't think they would do anything like that. I'm guessing it would be a guy with no fight as of now. So you can rule out Hardy, Condit, Fitch, Alves and Kos....so that is why I'm guessing Kampmann.

I say the winner of Hughes-Almedia. Why the fuck would you put Jake against a loser when you have to build him up?

Andrew the Raider King wrote:

I say the winner of Hughes-Almedia. Why the fuck would you put Jake against a loser when you have to build him up?

Like I said above, I seriously doubt they will announce a fight with a guy already tied up in a fight. Jake will be in the cage soon and you have to account for injuries.

awesome. Now we just need Nick to come back.

Paulo Thiago is a potential option. So is Mike Swick. So are numerous other fighters "Top contender" is applied much more liberally by promoters than fans.

I knew he would be at 170lbs. Good to hear because I think Jake is better than the rest of the WW contenders in the UFC. I can see him fighting Swick or Kampmann and being added to a card ASAP.

If Jake wins his first fight does he get an immediate title shot afterwards? I think yes as do most of you I would imagine.

I don't see any other options besides they guys listed. Kamp, Swick or Thiago. Right now Kamp is the head of that pack IMO that fight makes the most sense. Also I don't have a problem giving the winner of that fight a title shot...except if Fitch wins he deserves his shot....but then again he already deserves his shot IMO so who knows what happens there.

Could they go big and give him the winner of Fitch Alves?

But that would put Shields on the shelf for awhile longer.

captain organic wrote:

Could they go big and give him the winner of Fitch Alves?

But that would put Shields on the shelf for awhile longer.

Exactly why I don't see them saying Jake will fight the winner/loser of any fight. I don't think we will here them announce anything like that. I would be shocked if they did. You never know what kind of injuries can pop up....seems like they always do.

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

Just because you don't see them beating GSP, they shouldn't get a tittle shot even though the winner would be by far the most deserving 170er in the UFC? So what do you do with the winner of that fight? How do you keep them motivated?

killerofchicken wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

Just because you don't see them beating GSP, they shouldn't get a tittle shot even though the winner would be by far the most deserving 170er in the UFC? So what do you do with the winner of that fight? How do you keep them motivated?

You buy them a Dodge Challenger. Let them fight Koscheck when he loses and tell them we have Jake Shields now, and you had your chance and got the shit kicked out of you by GSP. Go out and dominate Koscheck and you will get a title shot with the winner of GSP vs Shields. Here is your keys to your Challenger.

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

If Jon Fitch wins he will be something like 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss being a dec to GSP. If he doesn't get a shot right away with a win here Dana White should be arrested and beaten like he stole a purse from a 99 year old elderly woman in a hoveround.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

If Jon Fitch wins he will be something like 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss being a dec to GSP. If he doesn't get a shot right away with a win here Dana White should be arrested and beaten like he stole a purse from a 99 year old elderly woman in a hoveround.

Nothing wrong with being 13-1 and getting a shot then. Just show Fitch a picture of his face after the last beating he took. Then again why not have Jake fight the winner of Sonnen/Spider if DW gives the Fitch/Alves winner the shot at GSP? Alot of things to wonder about with Jake coming in to the UFC. I know they said he will be at 170lbs, but things change in the UFC sometimes. Just thought about Vitor after typing all that?

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

If Jon Fitch wins he will be something like 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss being a dec to GSP. If he doesn't get a shot right away with a win here Dana White should be arrested and beaten like he stole a purse from a 99 year old elderly woman in a hoveround.

Nothing wrong with being 13-1 and getting a shot then. Just show Fitch a picture of his face after the last beating he took. Then again why not have Jake fight the winner of Sonnen/Spider if DW gives the Fitch/Alves winner the shot at GSP? Alot of things to wonder about with Jake coming in to the UFC. I know they said he will be at 170lbs, but things change in the UFC sometimes. Just thought about Vitor after typing all that?

How Fitch did against GSP is irrelevant IMO. You earn a shot by proving you are the #1 contender and better then all other contenders. Fitch has proven that. Have a record like that in the UFC without getting another shot is beyond insulting, it is criminal.
They could have given him that 2nd shot a few different times now. How many fights does he have to win to get his shot? 20? Should he never be allowed to get the shot he has earned over and over? Why fight in the UFC if they won't give you a shot at the belt. How many "fuck you" can he get from the UFC?

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

If Jon Fitch wins he will be something like 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss being a dec to GSP. If he doesn't get a shot right away with a win here Dana White should be arrested and beaten like he stole a purse from a 99 year old elderly woman in a hoveround.

Nothing wrong with being 13-1 and getting a shot then. Just show Fitch a picture of his face after the last beating he took. Then again why not have Jake fight the winner of Sonnen/Spider if DW gives the Fitch/Alves winner the shot at GSP? Alot of things to wonder about with Jake coming in to the UFC. I know they said he will be at 170lbs, but things change in the UFC sometimes. Just thought about Vitor after typing all that?

How Fitch did against GSP is irrelevant IMO. You earn a shot by proving you are the #1 contender and better then all other contenders. Fitch has proven that. Have a record like that in the UFC without getting another shot is beyond insulting, it is criminal.
They could have given him that 2nd shot a few different times now. How many fights does he have to win to get his shot? 20? Should he never be allowed to get the shot he has earned over and over? Why fight in the UFC if they won't give you a shot at the belt. How many "fuck you" can he get from the UFC?

thats exactly what I was saying sooner. I'm not even a Fitch fan but he's getting disrespected like no other, it doesn't matter how he did against GSP, because GSP does that to any contender as of late.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

They need to get Shields a fight ASAP. GSP doesn't have any challenger after Kos. He already whooped Koscheck and is fighting him again. He beat the shit out of Alves and Fitch and I don't see either of them beating GSP. The Shields fight is alot better for the UFC and the fans. I think we see Jake vs ? on the GSP vs Kos card.

If Jon Fitch wins he will be something like 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss being a dec to GSP. If he doesn't get a shot right away with a win here Dana White should be arrested and beaten like he stole a purse from a 99 year old elderly woman in a hoveround.

Nothing wrong with being 13-1 and getting a shot then. Just show Fitch a picture of his face after the last beating he took. Then again why not have Jake fight the winner of Sonnen/Spider if DW gives the Fitch/Alves winner the shot at GSP? Alot of things to wonder about with Jake coming in to the UFC. I know they said he will be at 170lbs, but things change in the UFC sometimes. Just thought about Vitor after typing all that?

How Fitch did against GSP is irrelevant IMO. You earn a shot by proving you are the #1 contender and better then all other contenders. Fitch has proven that. Have a record like that in the UFC without getting another shot is beyond insulting, it is criminal.
They could have given him that 2nd shot a few different times now. How many fights does he have to win to get his shot? 20? Should he never be allowed to get the shot he has earned over and over? Why fight in the UFC if they won't give you a shot at the belt. How many "fuck you" can he get from the UFC?

I think he will get the shot. Me as a fan wants to see Jake and GSP throw down. I think Jake beats Fitch or Alves so that is why I am all about him getting a shot. You are right though and if Fitch wins he deserves a shot again. If Alves wins I can't say the same thing.

If Fitch wins he should fight for the title or Dana should be thrown in jail or just shot. If Alves wins then I don't have the same complaints. Alves last fight was for the title so winning here would put him on a whopping 1 fight win streak. If Fitch wins that will be 5 in a row in the UFC since losing to GSP.

I keep forgetting that Alves has been out since 100! Wow thats a long time.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/07/16/dana-white-says-jake-shields-hasnt-signed-with-ufc-yet/

Dana says he hasn't been signed yet. Not that it won't happen obviously but not yet atleast

no surprise here

I hope he pulls a Hendo and fights at 2 weight classes

I believe Shields dad over Dana. DW is just saving this for a press conference to get some media attention.