With another bombshell from the UFC in the form of Jake Shields release, I cant help but compare the situation to Jon Fitch, for obvious reasons. Both men were Top 10 fighters in the Welterweight division - both have had a pretty rough stretch in the last few years before their release, with Fitch going 1-2-1 and Shields going 3-3(1 NC) since 2011 - both have less than exciting fighting styles which have drawn the ire of most fans and lead to some extremely contentious decisions in Shields case - and both carried a pretty hefty price tag based solely on their highly-respectable records and consistency against top-tier talent. So why are Jakes walking papers such a shock? Probably because, despite how you land on his style and wins - one could easily argue hes only won a single fight since joining the UFC - hes still hands down, one of the best fighters in the world and arguably one of the greatest fighters of the modern era. But consider this for a second... Joe Silva is the best in the world at what he does, but when Fitch was cut, the outrage was enormous. Outside of financial theories and broad assumptions that Dana simply hates boring fighters, did anyone stop to think that maybe Joe Silva saw something we couldnt? Despite everyone screaming foul, what happened to Fitch in his next fight? He got cracked and choked to sleep by a Top 25(?) fighter. Then he followed that up by winning a dreadful Split Decision against a no-name stepping stone. Point is, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, maybe this whole thing is based on a hunch; an extremely well-educated, experienced and insightful hunch. Guess well have to wait and see. -Alex
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:08:27 +0000
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