Jake Shields Responds To Dana White: Another Guy? That’s A Little Bit Ridiculous

Previously ranked at No. 6 heading into his pivotal UFC 171 showdown with Hector Lombard, longtime MMA veteran Jake Shields saw his UFC employment go up in smoke after a thoroughly uninspired performance ended in a unanimous decision loss to “Lightning.”

The former Strikeforce champ had been on a tear in the Octagon, smothering top-level opponents Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia in his two bouts prior to fighting Lombard. If not for a “No Contest” after his decision win over Ed Herman at UFC 150, Shields could have been on a four-fight win streak heading into UFC 171.

But the knock on Shields has always been his grappling-focused style; something that gives opponents fits and makes fans fall asleep.

Never a fan of anticlimactic decisions, UFC President Dana White was quick to say that Shields was on the decline, noting that he had become “just another guy.” While a former multi-division champion with two wins over Top 10-ranked opponents in the last year is hardly just another guy, Shields was gone.

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He found a new home with World Series of Fighting, signing a multi-fight deal with the blossoming promotion last week.

Today, Shields has responded to White’s comments. His words to MMA Fighting:

“I didn’t read what Dana said, but ‘another guy?’ So are [a lot of other fighters] I guess, considering I beat at least half the guys in the top-10. That’s a little bit ridiculous. But I guess you have to justify it somehow.”

Shields has a good point here, because it’s fairly obvious that he would run through a very long list of mid-level opponents. However, Shields knows that the UFC wants highlight reel knockouts that drive ratings, and he’ll never be that guy. He criticized the UFC’s drive towards a slugfest, just-bleed mentality:

“My last two fights have been really close and I haven’t finished, so I figure maybe they’re just doing that… I feel like the sport, they’re trying to pull it away from being the best in the sport, and just putting it into, oh, you gotta go and slug it out and fight the way they want you to, which is kind of ridiculous.

You wouldn’t have guys like Floyd Mayweather being the best in the world if [boxing executives] pressured him like that. But it’s where [the sport] is right now. You just have to deal with it. It’s a rough industry.”

Indeed it is a rough industry, because Shields may have been headed towards another UFC welterweight title shot had he gotten by Lombard in March. Instead, he’s released from the world’s biggest MMA promotion. He touched on the frustrating nature of being employed by UFC:

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“You never know what the next day is going to bring. One loss and all of a sudden you’re out of the whole show. From being lined up to get a title shot, to being out of the show, you never know where you’re going to end up. It’s definitely a little frustrating, but I just have to not let it get to me and just keep going out there and winning fights and doing what I do.”

Many were happy to see Shields go, while others felt like his release was a travesty that brought to light much of what is wrong with the UFC. At the heart of the matter, the promotion may have seen Shields as a serious threat to burgeoning competitors whom they deemed much more exciting.

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Or, it could have been his $120,000 a fight price tag.

Whose side are you on in this back-and-forth? Is the UFC migrating towards a slug-it-out or get cut dynamic just to keep the dollar signs rolling in at a steady pace?

Photo Credit: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports