UFC releases Jake Shields.

By Ariel Helwani
On Apr 7 2014, 9:38 am

After a little over three years, Jake Shields' UFC run has come to an end.


The former welterweight contender has been released by the promotion, his manager Lex McMahon of Alchemist Management confirmed with MMAFighting.com.


McMahon released the following statement to MMAFighting.com Monday morning:


"Jake Shields has been released by the UFC. Jake appreciates the opportunities provided by the UFC and thanks Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita. Jake is an elite athlete who is one of the best welterweight fighters in the world with a long history of winning at a championship level.


"Jake and our team are already exploring options. I'm confident that Jake will have a new promotion to call home very soon. Jake thanks his fans for their support and looks forward to competing for them again soon."


Shields (29-7-1, 1 NC) most recently lost a unanimous decision to Hector Lombard at UFC 171 last month. The loss snapped a four-fight unbeaten streak for the 35-year-old. He made his Octagon debut at UFC 121 in Oct. 2010, defeating Martin Kampmann via split decision. His next fight was against Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 129 in what is still the highest-grossing event in the organization's history. Over 55,000 people attended the event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and the gate was over $12 million. Both remain records.


Shields, who made his MMA debut in 1999, is a former EliteXC welterweight champion and Strikeforce middleweight champion. Arguably his highest-profile win came when he defeated Dan Henderson on CBS. He signed with the UFC following that win and went 4-3 with 1 no contest inside the Octagon.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/4/7/5589824/ufc-releases-jake-shields

I think this was to be expected, especially since DFW and the UFC brass aren't very fond of Jake's fighting style.

I hope Shields signs with WSOF, because they're starting to look a lot like the old WEC organization over there... where fighters on their way up to the UFC can be found, along with fighters that have lost favor with the UFC.

Since One FC signed Ben Askren, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there. I totally understand the UFC releasing him from a business standpoint, but you are giving up a top fighter because they didn't excite fans. Not a good thing to do. However, it may actually be a good thing to help get fighters to put it all on the line every fight.

Disappointed one of the best welterweight fighters in the world no longer has a home in the most prestigious promotion in the sport.  Understand that grind wrestling is not everyone's cup of tea, but have a hard time reconciling that dominant fighters like Jake have to apologize for the way they win...

    The prospect of a clash between Ben Askren and Jake Shields is definitely of interest to me, much more so than seeing Shields in any of the other promotions he could be talking with.  I believe Jake would have the game to overcome the challenge that is Rousimar Palhares, who just took the WSOF welterweight title, but it could actually be a decent fight.  I just have more interest in seeing two of the best control grapplers in the sport go at it...