As far as we understand (and we say this because 80% of our legal knowledge is limited to ‘don’t do ____ in front of a cop’), Jake Shields was off the market until today; meaning Strikeforce was the only promotion that could negotiate with its current middleweight champion. Now, as of this AM, no new deal with Strikeforce has been announced, meaning that other promotions (particularly ones with the letters U.F.C.) are free to pursue Shields.
So was Shields kind of a restricted free agent and now he’s entered into true, ‘show me the money,’ free agency? Yes and no. According to a report from MMA Junkie, other promotions can now negotiate with Shields, however, Strikeforce still has the right to match that offer. The length of the ‘matching period’ is unknown, but, we’re thinking Dana White is probably familiar with that info as of today.
Really, barring some mind blowing, ‘I didn’t see that coming’ signing, where a promotion like Bellator FC picks up Shields (similar to its signing of Roger Huerta), it seems like most folks are expecting Shields to be UFC bound. Second on the list of predicted outcomes is that he remains with Strikeforce, but remember, White did take the dude to WEC 48. That’s gotta count for something…