Jake Shields has had a terrible past few weeks.
His father and manager sadly passed away on Aug. 29, and he was stopped for the first time in his career. Clearly he needs to regroup before he steps back into the octagon to try to bring his UFC record back to .500.
When the time comes to step back in the cage, Shields will most likely be demoted to fighting on the main card, much to his dismay. He will also be demoted to fighting middle of the pack welterweights in an effort to prove that he is worthy to fight another title contender.
Who will show up in the next fight? Shields the Strikeforce champion welterweight, or the Shields that can’t deal with strong stand-up? Here are some matchups that may be able to help figure that out…