Former Strikeforce champ Jake Shields released by UFC

[keithlewis]

Former Strikeforce champ Jake Shields released by UFC


Former Strikeforce middleweight champion and onetime UFC title challenger Jake Shields will be looking for a new promotion to call home.

The welterweight has been released by the UFC, his manager on Monday confirmed with MMAjunkie. The news first was reported Monday by MMA Fighting.

Shields (29-7-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) sees his release on the heels of a unanimous decision loss to Hector Lombard a little more than three weeks ago at UFC 171 in Dallas. That loss snapped a four-fight unbeaten streak for the Californian, a longtime training partner of Nick and Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.

In a statement released to MMAjunkie, Shields’ manager, Alchemist Management’s Lex McMahon, said new possibilities are already in the works for the fighter.

“Jake appreciates the opportunities provided by the UFC and thanks Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita,” the statement read. “Jake is an elite athlete who is one of the best welterweight fighters in the world with a long history of winning at a championship level. Jake and our team are already exploring options. I’m confident that Jake will have a new promotion to call home very soon. Jake thanks his fans for their support and looks forward to competing for them again soon.”


For the rest - http://mmajunkie.com/2014/04/former-str ... ed-by-ufc/