Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, News
After a relatively short courting period that was really more formality than anything else, Jake Shields officially signed with the UFC on Monday.
Shields (25-4-1) was looking for a new promotion to call home after he couldn’t reach an agreement with Strikeforce. Over the past few months, all the speculation focused on not whether he would wind up in the UFC, but when.
In April, at the WEC 48 pay-per-view, Shields was shown on camera sitting next to UFC president Dana White, who mouthed the words, “He’s mine.” Shields was also a coach for Chuck Liddell on Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which filmed earlier this year.
MMA Fighting reported last week that despite reports Shields had put ink to paper, the deal wasn’t signed just yet. Today, on his official Twitter account, Shields told the world he had signed a contract and confirmed, as MMA Fighting first reported last week, his first opponent will be Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 in Los Angeles on Oct. 30.