It had been nearly seven months since Jake Shields was released from the UFC. And he treated his new home at World Series of Fighting as his own.
The former Strikeforce middleweight champion Shields went into his opponent Ryan Ford’s backyard of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in his WSOF debut and scored his first finish since 2009. He tapped out Ford with a rear-naked choke at the 4:29 of the first round. The last time he finished an opponent was in June 2009 against Robbie Lawler.
After getting dropped with a stiff jab early in the fight, Shields steered things in his favor by taking the fight to the ground.
“Yeah, I went down with it, but it was more of a trip but the punch definitely impacted me, I did feel it,” he told Bas Rutten in the post-fight interview.
When asked who he wanted to fight next, Shields was open to suggestions.
“I want to fight anyone, man, I want that belt though,” he said. “I’m here to be the best in the world. I want to fight the very top. Ryan Ford is a great fighter, but whoever the best fighter is here I want to fight them.”
It was speculated earlier in the week by WSOF officials that Shields would face the winner of the Jon Fitch–Rousimar Palhares middlweeight title fight, which is slated to take place at WSOF 16 on Dec. 13.
With the victory, Shields moved to 30-7-1 in his MMA career.
In the co-main event, the WSOF’s first ever heavyweight champion was crowned, and it was Calgary-based Smealinho Rama that put on a showcase. The 22-year-old Rama overwhelmed American Top Team’s Derrick Mehmen, beginning with a big left hand that set up a sally of haymakers to finish off the Cedar Rapids fighter, Mehman. Rama dropped Mehman with a right hand after absorbing a series of punches along the fence, before the referee stepped in.
The end came at :51 of round 1. Rama moves to 9-1.
In a featherweight bout, veteran Chris Horedecki was too much for Calgary fighter Luis Huete. The 27-year-old Horedecki used wrestling to control Huete for large long portions of the fight, taking him down for the bulk of each round. He won via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
To kick off the main card, former UFC fighter Jared Hamman snapped a three-fight losing streak with a resounding TKO of Luke Harris. Hamman blitzed Harris early with a barrage of punches, finally dropping the Alberta native midway through the first round. The official stoppage came at the 2:27 mark.