Shields’ UFC Welcome
Jake Rossen Jul 20, 2010
Reports have exiting Strikeforce champion Jake Shields
penciled in against Martin
Kampmann for his UFC debut at UFC
121 "Lesnar vs. Velasquez" on Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in
Anaheim, Calif.
Really? Months of noise about Shields and he’s booked in a fight that promises to be stilted and workmanlike? Kampmann is a medium-heat fighter who probably can’t do much about Shields getting ground control and working him over. It’s going to be a slow burn.
This is process-of-elimination matchmaking, a condition of necessity over what might make for a better match. Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves are tied up with one another; Georges St. Pierre is committed to “The Ultimate Fighter,” as is Josh Koscheck. That leaves Kampmann as the most credentialed welterweight available. And considering the volume of noise surrounding Shields’ career decision, anything less than a dominant performance is going to be a disappointment.
Really? Months of noise about Shields and he’s booked in a fight that promises to be stilted and workmanlike? Kampmann is a medium-heat fighter who probably can’t do much about Shields getting ground control and working him over. It’s going to be a slow burn.
This is process-of-elimination matchmaking, a condition of necessity over what might make for a better match. Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves are tied up with one another; Georges St. Pierre is committed to “The Ultimate Fighter,” as is Josh Koscheck. That leaves Kampmann as the most credentialed welterweight available. And considering the volume of noise surrounding Shields’ career decision, anything less than a dominant performance is going to be a disappointment.
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