Tag: Dana White

Jake Shields Officially Signs With UFC, Will Face Martin Kampmann at UFC 121

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, NewsAfter 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 …

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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.

Vitor Belfort’s Camp Not Sweating Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Filed under: Affliction, UFCIt’s been more than a year since UFC President Dana White first identified Vitor Belfort as the man who could dethrone middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That was in June of 2009, when Belfort was preparing to fight on an…

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It’s been more than a year since UFC President Dana White first identified Vitor Belfort as the man who could dethrone middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That was in June of 2009, when Belfort was preparing to fight on an Affliction card that never happened, and Silva was preparing to fight Forrest Griffin after sleepwalking through a win over Thales Leites.

Now Silva is preparing to fight Chael Sonnen after sleepwalking through a win over Demian Maia, and Belfort is recovering from a shoulder injury that prevented him from fighting Silva and allowed both Maia and Sonnen to leapfrog him in the UFC’s middleweight hierarchy. But Belfort is back to training after shoulder surgery, and in his training camp, the focus is on fighting Silva.

As Soon As UFC Actually Gets Around to Signing Shields, Kampmann Could Be First Opponent, Report says

(Jake initially felt some trepidations about it, but Dana assured him that everyone who signs a UFC contract takes pictures like this. PicProps: Sherdog, obviously.)
It must add a certain amount of insult to injury for Strikeforce that the UFC is takin…


(Jake initially felt some trepidations about it, but Dana assured him that everyone who signs a UFC contract takes pictures like this. PicProps: Sherdog, obviously.)

It must add a certain amount of insult to injury for Strikeforce that the UFC is taking its sweet time signing Jake Shields. It’s almost like Dana White wants to remind Scott Coker (and everybody else) that the MMA world starts and stops at his convenience, not theirs. Yeah, just as soon as he rolls out of bed around 11 o’clock this morning, hits the gym, lunches at Delmonico’s, spends the requisite few minutes berating Marty Cordova and swings by Pinkberry for his snack, he might – if nothing else comes up – get around to locking down the excommunicated Strikeforce champ. Why be so leisurely about it? Because he can, motherfucker. Where else is Shields really going to go?

Despite reports this week from Shields’ own team that he’d finally slapped his John Hancock on one of the UFC’s notoriously draconian legal agreements, the company itself continues to deny it has formally come to terms with the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu product. According to an MMA Fighting.com story published late Friday night however, Shields’ signing actually is looming and once it goes down, he could be looking at facing Martin Kampmann at welterweight in his promotional debut.

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Dana White Says Jake Shields Hasn’t Signed With UFC Yet

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsLate Thursday evening, Graciefighter.com reported that Jake Shields had come to terms with the UFC, and would debut in the organization as a welterweight in the near future.

However, when MMA Fighting contacte…

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Late Thursday evening, Graciefighter.com reported that Jake Shields had come to terms with the UFC, and would debut in the organization as a welterweight in the near future.

However, when MMA Fighting contacted Dana White to confirm the report, the UFC president refuted it.

“Not true,” White wrote via text.

Bellator Source Refutes Reports Paul Daley Has Signed With Promotion

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, NewsContrary to multiple reports the last two days, former UFC welterweight Paul “Semtex” Daley has not signed with Bellator Fighting Championships.

A Bellator source confirmed Saturday to MMA Fighting that …

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Contrary to multiple reports the last two days, former UFC welterweight Paul “Semtex” Daley has not signed with Bellator Fighting Championships.

A Bellator source confirmed Saturday to MMA Fighting that the promotion had not, in fact, inked the British fighter to a contract, refuting a story first reported at bjpenn.com citing undisclosed sources.

“Paul Daley is not under contract with Bellator,” the source told MMA Fighting. Per the promotion’s policy, no further comment could be given since Daley is not one of the company’s fighters. There is no word whether or not Daley is in talks with Bellator to join the promotion following his fight against Daniel Acacio for Impact FC in Sydney on July 18.

Chuck Liddell’s Retirement Struggle Understandable, but Won’t Get Easier

Filed under: UFCIf there’s anybody who should understand what Chuck Liddell is going through these days, it’s Dana White. The UFC president said this weekend that the 40 year-old Liddell remains undecided about retirement, and apparently attending all …

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If there’s anybody who should understand what Chuck Liddell is going through these days, it’s Dana White. The UFC president said this weekend that the 40 year-old Liddell remains undecided about retirement, and apparently attending all these live MMA events as a spectator isn’t exactly helping him let it go.

“He told me tonight the show open messed him up, watching [UFC 116] open,” White said. “This guy’s in this longer than me. He’s been around forever and loves the sport. All I’m hoping is that he makes the right decision.”

Reading those words, your heart has to break a little for the former champion. Imagine him sitting there on fight night — the music blaring through the arena, the UFC highlight reel bringing the crowd to a boil, the entire cocktail of emotions he used to live for — only now he’s watching from the outside, struggling to stay in his seat.