Thursday, July 1, 2010

Jake Shields Released From Strikeforce! Is He UFC Bound?

Strikeforce Middleweight title carrier Jake Shields has officially been released from his contract with the No. 2-ranked promotion and his Championship has been vacated.

Strikeforce president Scott Coker was a guest on MMAweekly radio show where he confirmed that his current Middleweight Champion is released from his current contract due to contractual disagreements.

"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 suggested by the Strikeforce figure head is for a eight-man, single-elimination tournament with the winner being crowned the undisputed Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Potential participants in the middleweight tournament include Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Cung Le, Scott Smith, Matt Lindland, Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy and Evangelista Santos.

As for the man at question, Jake Shields, he is expected to sign a contract with the UFC in the near future.

Shields is currently on the biggest roll of his career having not lost a bout since 2004 and holding victories over Jason Miller, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, and most recently, former PRIDE FC Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson.

In the UFC, there are many intriguing matchups to test the Cesar Gracie standout whether he chooses to compete at Middleweight or Welterweight.