Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, BellatorThe midway point of the year brings with it hot dog-eating competitions, all-star games, heat strokes and fireworks. And some of those fireworks come inside the cage.
The midway point of the year brings with it hot dog-eating competitions, all-star games, heat strokes and fireworks. And some of those fireworks come inside the cage.
It also brings an opportunity to look back on the first half of the year that has been in mixed martial arts.
All week, MMA Fighting will hand out its awards for the half-year’s best knockouts, submissions, fights, fighters, fight cards and a Sunday special from Ben Fowlkes you won’t want to miss.
But Monday, we kick things off with the top upsets through the first half of 2010. And wouldn’t you know it? Ray Hui and Matt Erickson had to duke it out over the biggest upset – and they fought … to a draw.
Heading into Jake Shields’ final Strikeforce bout against Dan Henderson, there was a lot of speculation that the middleweight champion was being set up to lose before exiting from the promotion, an view which was fed ‘all you can eat buffet’ style by UFC Pres Dana White. Of course, Shields earned the UD win over […]
Heading into Jake Shields’ final Strikeforce bout against Dan Henderson, there was a lot of speculation that the middleweight champion was being set up to lose before exiting from the promotion, an view which was fed ‘all you can eat buffet’ style by UFC Pres Dana White. Of course, Shields earned the UD win over the decorated fighter, and is reportedly a pen stroke or two away from signing with the UFC.
Well, now that Shields has been officially released from the promotion, the fighter has begun to talk a little more openly about his former employers, and in an interview with BJ Penn.com, he wasn’t exactly overly warm…In fact, Shields offered this, while talking about the futures of his Cesar Gracie teammates Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.
“I don’t want to knock Strikeforce because that’s not my style even though they did treat me like shit which was unnecessary because I never talked bad about them. Honestly I would love to see Gilbert and Nick in the UFC. Even though Strikeforce is a good show, everyone knows it’s the number two show. They have a handful of good fighters but all the top competition is in the UFC and I feel that Nick and Gilbert are good enough to fight at the highest level. I would love to see them come over and once I get signed I’ll have to put that in Dana’s ear.”
(Shields was pleasantly surprised to find his locker at the UFC training centre stuffed with the "respect" Strikeforce failed to show him.)
When Jake Shields announced that he would be testing the free agent waters when his Strikeforce contra…
(Shields was pleasantly surprised to find his locker at the UFC training centre stuffed with the "respect" Strikeforce failed to show him.)
When Jake Shields announced that he would be testing the free agent waters when his Strikeforce contract ended this summer, every MMA fan and journalist collectively thought, "He’s going to the UFC." Strikeforce must have been thinking the same thing, considering they let Shields, who is their middleweight champ, go without a fight by releasing him without tendering a final offer before he began the open negotiation period with other promotions.
Even if a company like the UFC made an offer, Strikeforce, by rights could have matched any offer on the table, but by releasing him from his contract, the only thing they did was possibly prevent a bidding war resulting salary increase for Shields.
He told BJPenn.com that the release was totally unexpected.
“It came as kind of a surprise. I hadn’t really been talking to Strikeforce and pretty much everyone knows that I want to go to the UFC. We got our negotiations going with the UFC and they (Strikeforce) dropped me without any warning and it came out of nowhere. It is what it is and I’m moving ahead with the UFC contract and hopefully that will be worked out soon.”
("So long, losers!" / Photo courtesy of sports.sho.com)
By CagePotato Comment-Section "Godfatehre" [sic] Old, Bald and Irish
I was recently greeted with the news that Strikeforce would not only be releasing current Middleweight C…
("So long, losers!" / Photo courtesy of sports.sho.com)
By CagePotato Comment-Section "Godfatehre" [sic] Old, Bald and Irish
I was recently greeted with the news that Strikeforce would not only be releasing current Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (25-4-1), but they are not even going to bother negotiating with him or making counter-offers.
W.T.F.?
This latest thumb-in-the-eye just adds to the disrespectful treatment that Shields has received at the hands of Coker and Company. Since when does a committed professional fighter who is a former Rumble on the Rock champ, SHOOTO Middleweight champ, EliteXC’s first and only welterweight champ, who just happens to be on a 14 fight win streak, become an unwanted commodity?
We all saw the CBS ads for Strikeforce: Nashville. You know, the flashy ones showing DAN HENDERSON punching! DAN HENDERSON kicking a bag! DAN HENDERSON standing there, making no expression, yet at the same time, being a living legend! And he’s gonna fight outside of the UFC! And it’s for the CHAMPIONSHIP BELT! Yeah, bitch…that’s right! And he’s gonna fight some guy! Some "Shileds" fella….but we don’t have time to talk about him because we just spent all the time in this commercial talking about how wickedly awesome DAN HENDERSON is!
If you were Jake Shields, how could you not feel insulted?
("Tell ’em you want a $125,000 base salary to start, increasing $25,000 with every win." "And a custom Hummer, like the ones they give to Ultimate Fighter coaches." "And an immediate shot at Anderson Silva." "And a p…
("Tell ’em you want a $125,000 base salary to start, increasing $25,000 with every win." "And a custom Hummer, like the ones they give to Ultimate Fighter coaches." "And an immediate shot at Anderson Silva." "And a percentage of the…wait, what?")
As Scott Coker said on MMA Weekly radio, "The numbers, there was a big gap between what we thought was real, and what we thought was going to work, and I call that the numbers dance. It is what it is, and we’re going to probably be moving forward with that tournament."
Tensions between Shields and Strikeforce have reportedly been strained since he appeared at WEC 48, sitting next to UFC president Dana White, who mouthed "he’s mine" at the camera. Strikeforce may have even tried to block Shields from attending Saturday’s Fedor vs. Werdum show.
(Jason "Mayhem" Miller, shown here with two of the countless enemies he’s made over the years.)
Losing your middleweight champ to the UFC after his contract runs out? Disaster. But Strikeforce plans to turn their lemons into lemonade with a…
(Jason "Mayhem" Miller, shown here with two of the countless enemies he’s made over the years.)
Losing your middleweight champ to the UFC after his contract runs out? Disaster. But Strikeforce plans to turn their lemons into lemonade with an upcoming eight-man tournament that will crown a new champion in their deepest division. Here’s what King Coker had to say about the MWGP he’ll put together if Jake Shields splits the scene:
Coker told MMAjunkie.com he is considering eight fighters for a potential tournament to begin at an event planned for Aug. 21: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz [Ed. note: Nick’s already the Strikeforce welterweight champ, so he’d be trying to scoop up his homey’s belt and rule over a second weight class] and "Mayhem" Miller. Additionally, the winner of a June 26 bout between Scott Smith and Cung Le is under consideration for a tourney spot, as is the winner of an upcoming World Victory Road/Sengoku bout between Kazuo Misaki and champ Jorge Santiago. The tournament would take place over two events, the Strikeforce CEO said. Houston is targeted for the first event, though the promotion has not confirmed a city or venue.
A two-event tournament means that the semi-finals and finals could potentially be held on the same night, Japan-style. And looking at that lineup, we see a lot of potential for sick matchups and serious grudge-settling. Think about it…
The midway point of the year brings with it hot dog-eating competitions, all-star games, heat strokes and fireworks. And some of those fireworks come inside the cage. 
