Shields Manager: ‘Jake Surprised, But Ready To Move Forward’

“I think, obviously, Jake was disappointed. He is a guy who for many years has been a champion, fought on a championship level, been top ranked. He was on a four-fight win streak prior to the Lombard loss, so I think it was something that took him by surprise, but he’s prepared to move forward… Jake had beaten pretty much everybody that was out there. He beat Condit, he beat Woodley, he beat Maia. So really, there wasn’t too many other options. With the right performance, I think (he could’ve been fighting for the title).

“It just shows you the nature of this sport. The right performance, he potentially fights for the title. The wrong performance, he’s looking for a new job.”

Lex McMahon, manager of Jake Shields, recently discussed the release of his athlete with MMAFighitng.com.

Jake joins a short list of fighters who have been released with highly favorable winning records. Fighters like Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami were also released with winning records, due to their lackluster fighting style.